Two Canton officers were charged in the death of Frank Tyson

CANTON. Stark County District Attorney Kyle Stone is expected to hold a news conference at noon today to discuss a grand jury’s decision to indict two Canton police officers in negligent homicide on April 18 death of Frank E. Tyson.

Officers Bo Schenigge and Camden Birch were booked into the Stark County Jail on Friday. Their arrests came after a Stark County grand jury indicted them.

“Today, the family of Frank Tyson is relieved to know that the officers involved in Frank’s inhumane and brutal death will not escape prosecution for their actions,” Tyson family attorney Bobby DiCello said in a prepared statement Saturday.

“This moment of relief is bittersweet because it makes official what they have known for a long time: Frank is a homicide victim who did not deserve to be strangled to death,” he said. “The Tyson family is asking for your support as they testify as the criminal case unfolds.”

Prosecutor Stark’s review: BCI Ohio is investigating the death of Frank Tyson

Frank Tyson’s deadly fight with the police

Tyson, a 53-year-old black man from Canton, died after a struggle with police inside the AMVETS building on Sherrick Road SE. He entered the club after a car crashed into a nearby pole.

At the club, he was confronted by Canton police. A struggle ensued. Later, Tyson was handcuffed. He was left face down on the floor for nearly eight minutes before an officer realized Tyson had no pulse.

Dashcam footage shows the officers throwing Tyson to the floor as he screams that the officers are trying to kill him.

One officer placed a knee on Tyson’s upper back and neck for about a minute while another officer handcuffed him. Tyson said several times, “I can’t breathe.”

“You’re all right,” one of the officers replied, keeping his hand on Tyson’s handcuffed wrist. “Shut up (expletive).”

Not even a minute after he was handcuffed, he fell silent.

Cantonal police officers Beau Schenege and Camden Birch have been charged

Shenegge and Burch were initially placed on administrative leave. Canton police turned the investigation over to the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is common in situations where a local officer shoots or kills someone.

Negligent homicide is a felony of the third degree; it is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.

For the past few years, the city police have been involved several high-profile confrontations that caused outrage in society.

Tyson’s death earlier this year sparked protests and calls for police reform. His case is the third this year involving Canton police officers and the death of a suspect. In two other cases, a grand jury did not indict the officers.

Tyson’s death — especially because he repeated the words “I can’t breathe” like George Floyd — sparked anger in the local black community, whose leaders said police had mistreated black residents. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Reverend Al Sharpton attended Tyson’s funeral.

The NAACP also called on the US Department of Justice to investigate the Canton police.

AND preliminary autopsy report released in August ruled that Tyson’s cause of death was homicide and that his cause of death was a combination of acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cardiopulmonary arrest, meaning his breathing and circulation stopped due to physical altercation. and prone to restraint.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated the case and in late August sent its report to the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office for review. Prosecutor Kyle Stone then presented the case to the grand jury.

The findings of the BCI investigation will not be made public until the case goes to court.

Prior to the decision, no other Stark County law enforcement officer had ever been charged in connection with the suspect’s death, County Attorney Carlin Isles said.

This story will be updated.

Contact Tim at 330-580-8333 or [email protected]. On X: @tbotosREP

Contact Nancy at 330-580-8382 or [email protected]. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Police in Canton, Ohio have filed charges in the death of Frank Tyson