The Canton, Ohio, Police Department has released body camera footage from the night a 53-year-old man died while his hands were handcuffed behind his back and he repeatedly told officers, “I can’t breathe.” Ground.
Video of the April 18 encounter shows the man, Frank Tyson, lying motionless on the floor of the bar for more than five minutes before police check for a pulse and about eight minutes before CPR is started. can be seen.
The approximately 36-minute video shows police arriving at the scene of a single-vehicle crash and finding a downed utility pole and an unoccupied vehicle with the driver’s side door open and its airbag deployed.
In the video, a man with a blurred face in a white van drives by and tells police the gunman is at the AMVETS lodge down the street. When the officers enter the lodge, a woman demands they remove Tyson. When the officers approached him, he overturned a bar stool and told them to get the sheriff.
They then try to handcuff him. Police identified Beau Schoenegge and Camden Birch as the “two lead officers” who responded to the call. The video was shot on Schoenegge’s body camera.
“They’re trying to kill me,” Tyson says. “They’re trying to kill me.”
Tyson yelled “Call the sheriff” several more times and continued to say, “They’re trying to kill me.”
Later, as police brought him to the ground, a voice could be heard saying, “You’re going to get sprayed.” Another says: “Don’t spray him.”
As Tyson was handcuffed, one of the officers appeared to place a knee on Tyson’s upper body, and Tyson said repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.”
The officer told him to calm down and stop fighting. Tyson replied: “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. You’re on my neck.”
The officer pressed his knee against Tyson for about 30 seconds, according to the video.
Shortly after the officer removed his knee, Tyson again said he couldn’t breathe, to which someone responded, “I can’t breathe.” Shut up- shut up. ”
Officers were seen searching Tyson’s wallet and speaking to bystanders after he appeared to stop moving. Tyson appeared to remain motionless on the floor for more than five minutes while at least one officer spoke with patrons at the bar.
At one point, a police officer joked: I’m not sure if this matters. ”
When one of the officers came back into frame, Tyson asked if he was calm and if he was breathing.
The officer checked Tyson’s pulse, then the officer performed chest compressions on the unresponsive Tyson.
State Police said in a news release Friday that troopers responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash just after 8:15 p.m. Thursday. They said witnesses directed them to AMVETS, where they made contact with Tyson, who then struggled with them.
“Shortly after securing Tyson in handcuffs, officers noticed Tyson became unresponsive,” the news release states.
CPR and several doses of Narcan were administered before Canton Fire Department medics arrived and Tyson was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m., according to a news release.
Harry Campbell, chief investigator with the Stark County Coroner’s Office, said his cause of death has not been determined.
In addition to body camera footage, police also released recordings of two 911 calls.
Law enforcement officials said in a statement that they “immediately contacted” the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to conduct an independent investigation. Although it did not name Tyson, the department confirmed that the investigation into the “serious officer-involved incident” is active and ongoing.
Canton Mayor William Scherer II said he met with Tyson’s family “not only to allow them to see what is currently available to the public, but also to express our condolences directly.”
Scherer said in a statement that his goal is to be as transparent as possible.
“This investigation is under the jurisdiction of the BCI and we will continue to provide it with all the information it needs to carry out its work,” he said.
Police Chief John Gabbard said he expressed his “deep sympathies” to those close to Tyson.
“Based on our experience, we are confident that BCI will conduct a very thorough review,” Gabbard said.
Scherer and Gabbard said they are limited in what they can say and what information they can provide because the investigation is pending.
Schoenegge and Birch, both of whom joined the department in 2022 and are assigned to the Department of Transportation, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation in accordance with department policy.