Two Ohio police officers charged with manslaughter in Frank Tyson’s death in custody

Ohio prosecutors have charged two police officers with manslaughter in the killing of a a man who was handcuffed and left face down on the floor of a social club in Canton when he told officers he couldn’t breathe.

Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone told reporters Saturday that indictments against Canton officers Beau Schengege and Camden Birch have been handed down by a grand jury in the April 18 death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old East Canton man who was taken into custody shortly after a car was detained. an accident that severed a communication pole.

Police body camera footage showed Tyson, who is black, resisting and repeatedly saying, “They’re trying to kill me” and “Call the sheriff” as he was led to the floor and told officers he couldn’t breathe.

Officers told Tyson he was fine to calm down and stop fighting as he was handcuffed face down and officers joked with bystanders and rummaged through Tyson’s wallet before realizing he was having a medical emergency.

The county coroner’s office ruled Tyson’s death a homicide in August, also citing heart disease and cocaine and alcohol intoxication as contributing factors.

Stone said the charges are third-degree felonies punishable by a maximum of 36 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. In response to questions on Saturday, he said there was no evidence to support the allegations against any of the bystanders.

The Stark County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Saturday that Schoenegg and Birch were booked into the county jail. The official said there was no information on who might represent them. Both have been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy, the Canton Police Department previously said.

Tyson’s family attorney, Bobby DiCello, said in a statement that the arrests were a relief because the police officers involved in what he called Tyson’s “inhumane and brutal death” would not escape prosecution. But he called it “bittersweet because it makes official what they’ve known for a long time: Frank was the victim of murder.”

President of the district Chairman of the NAACPHector McDaniel, called the allegations “consistent with the behavior we’ve seen.”

“We believe we are moving in the right direction toward transparency, accountability and truth,” McDaniel said, according to the Canton Repository.

Tyson was released from state prison on April 6 after serving a 24-year sentence for kidnapping and theft, and was almost immediately declared a post-release probation violator for failing to report to a parole officer, according to the Department Rehabilitation and Corrections Ohio. .