Struggling to breathe as a cop placed his knee on his neck, Frank Tyson pleaded for the Ohio cop to lift his knee, telling the cop, “I can’t breathe.”
But the Canton police officer refused to believe him.
“You’re fine,” said the cop. “Shut the f–k up.”
But Tyson, a 53-year-old Black man, was not fine and ended up dying minutes later.
Canton police officers Camden Burch (left) and Beau Schoenegge (right) were indicted on homicide charges for their role in the death of Frank Tyson (center). (Photo: Mugshots and Tyson family)
On Nov. 1, the two Canton police officers, Camden Burch and Beau Schoenegge, were indicted on reckless homicide charges by a grand jury, which is a third-degree that typically results in a sentence between nine months and three years as well as a fine of up to $10,000.
“Now we know who the bad guy is,” said the attorney for Tyson’s family, Bobby DiCello, in a press conference Saturday. “It wasn’t Frank. The indictment tells you who to focus on.”
Burch and Schoenegge turned themselves into the Stark County Jail on that Friday and spent the weekend in jail before facing a judge who set their bond at $25,000 on Monday. Both men entered a not guilty plea.
An autopsy ruled the death a homicide, stating Tyson died of cardiopulmonary arrest in association with the physical altercation and prone restraint, according to The Canton Repository.
The autopsy also indicated other factors that contributed to Tyson’s death, including acute intoxication by cocaine and alcohol, obesity, and ischemic cardiovascular disease, which is a condition where the heart muscle does not receive enough blood and oxygen due to narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.
Craig M. Riley, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter, said the decision to indict the officers was a political hit job.
“Some politicians and ‘community leaders’ have sought to exploit Officers Schoenegge and Burch as political tools to boost re-election campaigns,” Riley wrote in a statement, according to The Canton Repository.
“Let’s be clear: these tactics undermine the real challenges and complex situations our officers face every day. By twisting facts for political gain, they fail to address the true needs of our community and instead seek to vilify those sworn to protect it.”
The Homicide
The incident took place on April 18 after Tyson crashed his car into an electrical pole and then walked into a nearby veteran’s hall, where someone called the police.
When Canton police officers Burch and Schoenegge entered the establishment, Tyson became paranoid and told the cops, “You ain’t killing me tonight.”
As the cops grabbed him to handcuff him, Tyson began struggling, claiming the cops were trying to kill him.
“They’re trying to kill me! Call the sheriff!” he repeatedly said as the cops struggled to handcuff him.
Eventually, the cops had him facedown on the floor with one cop’s knees on his neck as they tried to handcuff him, and Tyson repeatedly told them, ”I can’t breathe.”
Once they had him handcuffed, the cop who had his knee on his neck stands up and tells Tyson that he is fine and to “shut the f–k up.”
Eight minutes later, the cop realizes that Tyson is not breathing and has no pulse, which is when he begins chest compressions and tells the other cop to tell medics to “step it up” since he is no longer feeling a pulse.
Pattern of Abuse
The killing of Tyson was only the latest in a long string of incidents involving the Canton Police Department and local Black people, including a recent incident showing a cop running up and kicking a Black man in the face who was on his knees with his hands in the air. That cop ended up terminated a month later.
In May, another Canton cop was caught on video allowing his police dog to maul a Black man who was simply witnessing cops make a traffic stop, which led to the termination of the cop.
In 2022, Canton police shot and killed another Black man who was standing in his backyard shooting a gun in the air to celebrate New Year’s Eve without realizing police were standing on the other side of his fence. That cop was cleared of wrongdoing.
“No one is above the law, and no one is so far below it that they don‘t deserve its protections,” said Kyle L. Stone, the Stark County Prosecuting Attorney, during a press conference Saturday.
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