Canton police officers face charges in Frank Tyson's death

A grand jury on Friday indicted two Canton police officers in the April killing of Frank Tyson and charged both with involuntary manslaughter. Officers Camden Burch and Beau Schoenegge were booked into the Stark County Jail on Friday.

Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone said in a news conference Saturday that reckless homicide, a third-degree felony, is punishable by 36 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

“No one is above the law and no one is so below the law that they do not deserve its protection,” Stone said.

The press conference was open to both the public and the media. Stone said he could not respond to questions about the grand jury testimony. He also received no answer when asked how the officers should have handled the situation differently or whether they expressed remorse.

A community member asked if charges would be filed against spectators at the April 18 event.

“There was no evidence and no indication that charges against these individuals were necessary at this time,” he said.

Stone also declined to comment on whether he was surprised by the charges.

“I’m not going to give my personal opinion on it,” he said. “We have thousands of cases every year that we evaluate and prosecute and have to navigate through. And in this case it would be no different, no matter who the defendants are. We would still process it and do the same thing.”

Attorney Bobby DiCello, who represented Tyson's family, then held his own press conference. He began his remarks by exclaiming, “Now we know who the bad guy is, and it wasn’t Frank!”

DiCello said Stone “acted courageously in bringing these charges” and he thanked prosecutors for keeping him updated on developments over the past week.

Tyson's brother John Tyson also spoke out Saturday, saying his family had been praying for justice.

“The charges were unexpected,” Tyson said. “We’re going to take this little win, build on it and just move on to the next stage.”

DiCello has compared Tyson's death to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

During the press conference, Thomas West, CEO of the Greater Stark County Urban League, called on Canton police to adopt the guidelines in Congresswoman Emilia Sykes' police de-escalation bill.

“We urge the city to implement all principles of the policing overhaul, including the creation of a community policing advisory board,” West said.

Tyson had only been out of prison for 13 days when he was arrested and killed on April 18. He had served 24 years on kidnapping charges; His family said he was wrongfully imprisoned. He was fleeing a crash site on Canton's east side when officers encountered him at an AMVETS building around 8:30 p.m.

Tyson reportedly resisted arrest, and as officers struggled to pin him to the ground and handcuff him, one of the officers pressed his knee on Tyson's back. He repeatedly screamed, “I can't breathe.” Body camera footage then shows Tyson lying motionless and handcuffed on the ground for several minutes before officers began CPR. He was later pronounced dead at Aultman Hospital.

In May, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton delivered Tyson's eulogy amid calls for justice from community members, the Urban League and the Stark County NAACP.