Two Canton, Ohio, police officers were charged with reckless homicide on Nov. 2 over the April 18 death of a 53-year-old Black man named Frank E. Tyson, who told the officers that he could not breathe as one officer put his knee on Tyson’s neck.
According to NBC News, the two 24-year-old officers, Camden Burch and Beau Schoenegge could face up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of the third-degree felony charge.
After Stark County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle L. Stone presented a grand jury with the results of an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation probe into the cause of Tyson’s death which concluded in August, the jury agreed to the reckless homicide charge.
This did not sit well with the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Labor Council Gold Unit, Craig M. Riley, who seemed to accuse Stone of playing politics as part of a lengthy statement to the Canton Repository.
“True progress,” Riley told the outlet, “comes from collaboration, investment, and open communication — not from using our officers as well-timed scapegoats to score political points.”
According to the body cam footage, Tyson screamed loudly that the police were trying to kill him as they wrestled him to the ground. While Tyson complained that he could not breathe, one officer told him that he was fine, and to “shut the f*** up,” shortly afterward, Tyson went silent for the last time.
Tyson’s death has sparked comparisons to the 2020 murder of George Floyd, largely due to him saying that he could not breathe and an officer kneeling on his neck.
According to the newspaper, Black community leaders in Canton have raised the alarm that the Canton Police Department has been mistreating its Black citizens.
Thomas West, the Greater Stark County Urban League chief executive, said in a statement to the media on Nov. 2 that he is hopeful that Tyson receives justice.
“We are now urging the justice system to act swiftly and hold those responsible for this tragic death fully accountable,” he said. “This incident, along with several others that have followed, highlights a troubling trend — one that suggests a belief among some law enforcement officers that they are above the law,” West said.
West continued, “While the initial arrest of the officers involved was a necessary first step, it is crucial that the firing of the officers involved, and prosecution follows to send a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force of the law.”
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