Two Canton police officers have pleaded not guilty after being charged in connection with the death of a Black man identified as Frank Tyson. Per WOIO, the accused officers, Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, entered their not-guilty pleas on Friday, November 8.
The pair had been in custody since November 1, but they were released last week after they each posted a $25,000 bond. Schoenegge and Burch have been charged with reckless homicide.
Tyson is said to have passed away during an encounter with the police officers on April 18. The 53-year-old deceased man reportedly drove away from a traffic crash before the fatal encounter.
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The Stark County prosecutor said that after the crash, Tyson asked someone to contact the Sheriff after he fled into an AMVETS club. But Canton police were rather notified about the incident, and the responding officers later got into a struggle with Tyson.
Tyson told the officers that he was unable to breathe after they wrestled him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. His family also said that body camera footage showed Tyson repeatedly telling the officers that he could not breathe.
One of the officers had also placed his knee on Tyson’s back during that period, WOIO reported. “I can’t breathe,” Tyson was heard saying in the footage, per CNN. “You’re fine,” one of the officers told Tyson before saying, “Shut the f**k up.”
Tyson later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital while he was still in handcuffs. His cause of death was ruled as a homicide by the Stark County Coroner’s Office. The coroner’s office also mentioned that his death was a result of factors including cocaine and alcohol and cardiopulmonary arrest.
“Today, Frank Tyson’s family breathes a short sigh of relief, knowing that the officers who took part in Frank’s inhumane and brutal death will not escape prosecution for their actions,” the attorney for Tyson’s family, Bobby DiCello, said in response to Schoenegge and Burch’s indictment.
“This moment of relief is bittersweet, because it makes official what they have long known: Frank is a victim of homicide who did not deserve to be suffocated to death. The Tyson family asks for your continued support as they witness the criminal process unfold.”
Schoenegge and Burch could be sentenced to up to 36 months in prison and fined $10,000 if convicted. The two accused officers could also be relieved of their duties.
