close
close

2 Ohio officers charged in case of black man who died while in custody

Two Canton, Ohio, police officers have been charged in connection with the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old Black man, in custody in April, authorities announced Saturday. File photo from Pixabay

November 2 (UPI) – Two Canton, Ohio, officers have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the April death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old Black man who died while being restrained, authorities announced Saturday.

Officers Camden Burch, 24, of Massillon, Ohio, and Beau Schoenegge, 24, of Canton, were each indicted by a grand jury and sent to prison, Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone told reporters.

“No one is above the law and no one is so far below that they do not deserve its protection,” Stone said of the two officers who held a handcuffed Tyson by the knee as he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest April 18 in Canton.

Bodycam video released by police in the days after the incident showed an officer placing his knee on Tyson's torso for about 30 seconds during a fight at a veterans club. The footage showed Tyson screaming that officers were trying to kill him while also saying, “I can't breathe.”

After he fell silent, more than five minutes passed before officers checked Tyson for a pulse and discovered he had none.

A preliminary autopsy report obtained by The (Canton) Repository concluded Tyson's death was homicide, while the cause of death was a combination of acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication, obesity, cardiovascular disease and heart – Pulmonary arrest was.

His breathing and blood circulation stopped due to the physical altercation and being restrained in the prone position, the report said.

Police initially blamed Tyson for the altercation, saying it happened because he fled on foot after drunkenly crashing his vehicle into a utility pole.

His death sparked protests in Canton's black community after two previous fatal incidents involving police officers in which no one was charged. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton attended Tyson's funeral.

“Now we know who the bad guy is, and it wasn't Frank,” Tyson family attorney Bobby DiCello told reporters Saturday after the charges were announced. “It's official. The indictment tells you who to focus on now. The narrative has changed.”

Stone “acted courageously in bringing this charge to the grand jury,” he added.

Craig Riley, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 2, said that while Tyson's death was “tragic,” the timing of the charges' announcement, just days before Stone would face voters in an election, “just happened to be opportune.” .

“By twisting facts for political gain, they fail to address the true needs of our community and instead seek to denigrate those sworn to protect them,” Riley said in a statement to The Repository.

You may also like...