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Ohio police officers are charged with the murder of Frank Tyson

CANTON – Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone has begun a press conference to discuss the grand jury's decision to indict two Canton police officers on involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the April 18 death of Frank E. Tyson.

Officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch were booked into the Stark County Jail on Friday. Their arrests came after a Stark County grand jury indicted them.

He said the grand jury determined that involuntary manslaughter was “the most appropriate” charge based on the information provided.

In response to a question asked at the news conference, Stone said there was no evidence to support charges against any of the bystanders in the incident.

When asked about the sentence he would seek, Stone said the judge would make that decision if convicted. The case has been assigned to Stark County Common Pleas Judge Kristin G. Farmer.

Stone ended his comment at 12:14 p.m. Several people who had been allowed into the press conference began chanting after he finished his speech. They said, “No justice, no peace” and other phrases in support of Tyson.

Tyson family attorney Bobby DiCello held a news conference immediately after Stone to discuss the charges.

“Now we know who the bad guy is,” he said. “It wasn’t Frank. The prosecution tells you who to focus on.”

Response to charges in the Frank Tyson case

“Today, Frank Tyson's family breathes a brief sigh of relief knowing that the officers involved in Frank's inhumane and brutal death will not escape prosecution for their actions,” DiCello said in a prepared statement Saturday.

“This moment of relief is bittersweet because it makes official what they have known for a long time: Frank is a victim of murder who did not deserve to be suffocated,” he said. “The Tyson family requests your continued support as they witness the criminal trial.”

In response to news of the charges, Hector McDaniel, president of the Stark County NAACP, said his organization stands for transparency and accountability.

“We firmly believe that this is the only path that leads to the truth, and without truth there is no justice,” he said.

McDaniel said the NAACP strives for consistent criminal charges based on conduct, regardless of whether average citizens or law enforcement are involved.

“We are very pleased with the fact that these two officers, in our opinion, will face charges that are consistent with the conduct that we saw,” McDaniel said. “We believe we are moving in the right direction toward transparency, accountability and truth.”

Thomas West, CEO of the Greater Stark County Urban League, said in a prepared statement that the charges are consistent with what many expected after viewing the April video footage.

“We now call on the justice system to act quickly and hold those responsible for this tragic death fully accountable,” he said. “This incident and several others that have followed it highlight a troubling trend – one that suggests to some a belief among law enforcement officials that they are above the law. “

“While the initial arrest of the officers involved was a necessary first step, it is critical that the firing of the officers involved and subsequent prosecution send a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated and will be dealt with harshly.” the law,” West said.

Stark Prosecutor's Review: Ohio BCI investigation into Frank Tyson's death completed

Frank Tyson's fatal confrontation with police

Tyson, a 53-year-old black man from Canton Township, died after a fight with police at the AMVETS building on Sherrick Road SE. He had entered the club after crashing a vehicle into a nearby electricity pole.

In the club he was confronted by the cantonal police. A fight ensued. Eventually, Tyson was handcuffed. He lay face down on the ground for nearly eight minutes before an officer determined Tyson had no pulse.

Body camera video shows officers taking Tyson to the ground as he screamed that officers were trying to kill him.

An officer placed his knee on Tyson's upper back and neck area for about a minute while another officer handcuffed him. Tyson said “I can’t breathe” several times.

“You’re fine,” one of the officers replied, putting his hand around Tyson’s handcuffed wrist. “Keep your mouth shut.”

Less than a minute after he was handcuffed, he fell silent.

Canton police officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch were charged

Schoenegge and Burch were initially placed on leave. Canton police turned the investigation over to the Ohio Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Investigation – which is common in situations where a local officer shoots or kills someone.

Reckless homicide is a third-degree felony; the penalty is up to three years in prison.

In recent years, city police have been involved in several high-profile confrontations that sparked outrage in the community.

Tyson's death earlier this year sparked protests and calls for police reform. His case was the third to be heard this year involving canton police officers and the death of a suspect. In the other two cases, the grand jury did not indict the officers.

Tyson's death – particularly because he repeated the words “I can't breathe” as George Floyd did – sparked anger in the local black community. Leaders said black residents were mistreated by police. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton attended Tyson's funeral.

The NAACP has also called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Canton police.

A preliminary autopsy report released in August concluded that Tyson's cause of death was homicide and that the cause of death was a combination of acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cardiopulmonary arrest, which caused his breathing to stop and his blood circulation stopped in connection with physical confrontation and restraint in the prone position.

The Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated the case and forwarded its report to the Stark County Prosecutor's Office for review in late August. Prosecutor Kyle Stone then presented the case to the grand jury.

The results of the BCI investigation will not be made public until the case has been heard in court.

Until this decision, no other Stark County law enforcement officer had ever been charged in connection with the death of a suspect, said Carlin Isles, spokesman for the Stark County Prosecutor's Office.

This story will be updated.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or [email protected]. On X: @tbotosREP

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or [email protected]. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR

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