‘I can’t breathe’: Black man dies after cops pin him down in Ohio

OHIO (USA): The Ohio Police has released body camera footage of a black man who died after repeatedly telling the police officers, “I can’t breathe”, as they pinned him down to arrest him, reported WKYC, a local news network in Cleveland.

The Canton Police Department released the video on Wednesday, showing the death of 53-year-old East Canton resident Frank E. Tyson. In the video released on Wednesday, the officers arrived at the scene, confronting Tyson and trying to take him into custody.

NEW: 53-year-old man dies after getting taken to the ground by police and telling them that he couldn’t breathe.

As Ohio man Frank Tyson was motionless on the ground, one officer could be heard bragging about the “bar fight.”

Tyson had just gotten out of prison according to… pic.twitter.com/vGUTHfLHI6

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 26, 2024

The video showed the officers struggling to arrest Tyson before one of the officers restrained him by placing his knee on the back of Tyson’s upper body. Following which, Tyson was heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe”. As per the video, after his last words, it also showed a period of five-plus minutes where he lay motionless on the floor before police checked for a pulse, WKYC reported.

The encounter occurred on April 18 when two officers responded to an AMVETS post on Sherrick Road Southeast in Canton Township. Police said that Tyson ran there after crashing his car near the eastern limits of the city of Canton.

The department identified the officers involved as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch of the traffic bureau. Both were placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation currently conducting an inquiry into the case, reported WKYC.

Authorities initially acknowledged the incident on Friday last week, saying officers responded to a report of a one-vehicle crash in the 1700 block of Sherrick Road Southeast around 8.15 pm. Officers observed a power pole in the roadway that had been sheared in the wreck and found the vehicle nearby before being directed to the AMVETS, where Tyson was located.

In that release, police stated that Tyson struggled with the officers before they secured him and that the officers noticed he was unresponsive “shortly after securing him in handcuffs”. Later, after performing CPR and administering multiple doses of Narcan, Tyson was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

After the video was publically released, Canton Mayor William Sherer II released a statement, saying, “Today we have released the bodycam footage of the arrest incident involving the death of Mr Frank E Tyson. I sat down with members of the Tyson family to not only allow them to see what is now being released to the public but to give them my condolences in person. As we make it through this challenging time, my goal is to be as transparent with this community as possible.”

The Mayor further said that this investigation is in the hands of BCI, and the authorities will continue to provide them with all the required information they need to do their work. (ANI)