An Ohio man is dead after a struggle with police inside a bar led to him being restrained and gasping his last words, “I can’t breathe,” newly released police bodycam footage reveals.
Fifty-three-year old Frank E. Tyson was pronounced dead April 18, 2024, less than an hour after two Canton police officers restrained him until realizing he was unconscious, the video shows.
A graphic 35-minute video released by the Canton Police Department on Wednesday shows the moments leading up to Tyson’s death.
Canton Police Department
The incident started when Canton officers received a report about a car that crashed into a telephone pole on Sherrick Road at 8:15 p.m., Lt. Dennis Garren said in a press release. A witness told the police that Tyson, the driver of the vehicle, ran into the nearby AMVETS social hall.
The video then shows officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch walking into the hall about two minutes later. They immediately found an agitated Tyson standing at the bar. Tyson started yelling repeatedly for the officers to “Call the sheriff!” and knocks over a stool. Bystanders in the bar are heard asking the officers to remove Tyson.
Canton Police Department
As the two police officers attempt to restrain Tyson, the altercation becomes physical and a bystander assisted in subduing him. Tyson was wrestled to the ground onto his stomach—with one officer putting his knee on the man’s back near his neck area while another handcuffed him, the video shows.
“Get off me,” Tyson is heard yelling at the officers in the video. “I can’t breathe.”
One of the officers is heard saying to Tyson, “You’re fine. Shut the f*** up!”
About four minutes after being handcuffed, the video shows officers realizing Tyson is nonresponsive. They begin asking each other, “Is he breathing?” and, “Does he have a pulse?”
The officers started performing CPR and gave Tyson several doses of Narcan before the Canton Fire Department medics arrived.
Canton Police Department
Tyson was taken to Aultman Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) was immediately contacted to conduct an independent investigation of the incident.
Garren told Newsweek this is the only suspect who has died in police custody this year.
Schoenegge and Burch, who are assigned to the Traffic Bureau, are on paid administrative leave per department policy.
“I want to extend my deepest sympathy to those close to Mr. Tyson,” police chief John Gabbard said in a press release. “Based on experience, I am confident that BCI will conduct a very thorough review. Out of respect for the independence of that investigation, I am limited in my ability to comment further.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.