A 53-year-old Ohio man, Frank Tyson, died in police custody after repeatedly telling officers "I can't breathe" while handcuffed and pinned to the ground, according to body camera footage released by the Canton Police Department. The incident, which occurred on April 18, has sparked an independent investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The nearly 36-minute video shows police responding to a single-car crash scene where they find a downed power pole and an unoccupied vehicle with the driver’s side door open and an airbag deployed. A man in a white van directs the officers to an AMVETS lodge down the street, identifying Tyson as the person responsible for the crash.
Upon entering the lodge, officers are asked by a woman to remove Tyson. The video, captured by Officer Beau Schoenegge’s body camera, shows Tyson knocking over a barstool and demanding the presence of the sheriff. As officers attempt to handcuff him, Tyson can be heard saying, “They’re trying to kill me.”
The footage further reveals that once Tyson is handcuffed, one of the officers appears to place his knee on Tyson’s upper body for about 30 seconds. During this time, Tyson repeatedly states, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. You’re on my neck.” After the officer removes his knee, Tyson continues to insist that he can't breathe, to which someone responds, “You’re fine. Shut the f--- up.”
Tyson then appears to stop moving and remains motionless on the floor for more than five minutes. During this time, an officer is seen looking through Tyson’s wallet and conversing with bar patrons. The officers later perform chest compressions on an unresponsive Tyson.
Canton police stated that officers responded to a report of a one-vehicle crash just after 8:15 p.m. and were directed to the AMVETS lodge where they encountered Tyson. “Shortly after securing him in handcuffs, Officers recognized that Tyson had become unresponsive,” the news release said. Tyson was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m. His cause of death is pending, according to Harry Campbell, chief investigator for the Stark County Coroner’s Office.
In response to the incident, Canton Mayor William Sherer II and Police Chief John Gabbard expressed their condolences to Tyson’s family. Both officials emphasized their commitment to transparency and cooperation with the ongoing investigation. Officers Schoenegge and Camden Burch, who were identified as the “two primary officers” who responded to the call, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation under department policy.
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