Newly released bodycam footage shows the moments leading as much as the death of an Ohio man who told police he couldn’t breathe after they pinned him face first to the ground of a bar.
The city of Canton, Ohio, released police footage of an encounter between local officers and 53-year-old Frank Tyson.
On April 18, police were called to the scene of a automobile accident just after 8:20 p.m. Tyson’s automobile reportedly hit an electrical pole. When police arrived, a passing driver told them that Tyson had fled to a nearby veterans’ social club.
When they arrived on the club, a woman standing by the door told officers, “Please get him out of here right now.”
As police approached Tyson, he told them, “Call the sheriff. You won’t kill me tonight” before officers grabbed him and tried to stop him.
Bodycam footage shows Tyson struggling with officers and screaming in despair: “They’re trying to kill me! Call the sheriff!” repeatedly to outsiders. The woman shouted to Tyson that the police were trying to help him.
Officers took Tyson to the ground with the help of one or two club patrons.
After placing him face down on the ground, one officer presses his knee against Tyson’s neck for several seconds while another tries to handcuff his wrists.
Tyson can be heard gurgling and saying, “Get off me,” and the officer shouts, “Calm down!” in answer.
As one officer’s knee presses against his neck, Tyson repeatedly tells him, “I can not breathe.”
When they finally handcuff him, the officer removes his knee. Tyson tells the officers again that he can’t breathe, and one of the officers replies, “You’re fantastic. Shut up (expletive).
Police left Tyson face down on the ground, lying motionless for almost six minutes while they joked with passersby.
Finally, considered one of the officers asks his partner if Tyson has calmed down. His partner replies, “He may be gone,” and the opposite leans in to ascertain his pulse.
They asked him to arise, then rolled him onto his back and commenced shaking and tapping him, but Tyson didn’t respond.
They then called an ambulance and commenced resuscitation. Medics arrived inside 10 minutes. Tyson was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m
Canton police released a statement on Tyson’s death, but never mentioned the time that passed between when officers handcuffed Tyson and when he was finally given medical attention.
“Shortly after securing him in handcuffs, officers noticed that Tyson became unresponsive,” he added statement reads. “Prior to the arrival of Canton Fire Department medics, CPR and several doses of Narcan were administered. Medics transported Mr. Tyson to Aultman Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Investigation (BCI) will conduct an independent investigation into the death. But BCI agents made clear in a statement Thursday that their investigation would not determine whether the officers’ use of force against Tyson was justified or warranted criminal charges.
The city released the body camera footage for public viewing after it was shown to Tyson’s family.
“As we navigate through this difficult time, my goal is to be as transparent as possible with this community,” Mayor William V. Sherer II said in a statement, offering condolences to the family. “This investigation is in the hands of BCI and we will continue to provide them with all the required information they need to do their job. Given that the investigation is ongoing, we are limited in what further information we can provide.”
Tyson’s death is strikingly much like the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Floyd died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. He repeatedly told police, “I can’t breathe.” During this time he was pinned to the bottom.
Tyson’s niece told News 5 Cleveland that Tyson had just been released from prison after serving a 24-year sentence for kidnapping. Family members didn’t have the chance to go to him before his death.
“He said he didn’t want to die” – Jasmine Tyson he said– reports a local outlet. “He thought, ‘call the sheriff,’ and when they finally got him, he said he couldn’t breathe.”
Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, the officers involved in Tyson’s arrest, have been placed on administrative leave.
The post After shaking hands, Ohio police officers left a black man lying motionless for nearly six minutes as they joked with passersby. He died. first appeared on 360WISE MEDIA.
The post After shaking hands, Ohio police officers left a black man lying motionless for nearly six minutes as they joked with passersby. He died. appeared first on 360WISE MEDIA.