Frank Tyson death: Bodycam divides Internet as Ohio man heard saying 'I can't breathe' as cop knelt on him

CANTON, OHIO: Body camera footage from the evening that a 53-year-old man told police repeatedly, "I can't breathe," while he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and pinned to the ground has been made public by the Canton Police Department in Ohio.

Frank Tyson was seen lying motionless on the bar floor for more than five minutes in the video of the April 18 encounter. It took the police approximately 8 minutes to begin CPR after they checked for a pulse in him. He was declared dead later.

36-minute video shows police responding to a single-car crash at AMVETS lodge

When police arrived at the scene of a single-car crash in the nearly 36-minute video, they discovered an abandoned car with the driver's side door open and an airbag deployed in addition to a downed power pole, NBC News reported.

A man in a white van, whose face was indistinct in the video, drove by and reported to the police that the culprit was at the AMVETS lodge across the street. As the officers entered the lodge, a woman requested that Tyson be taken out.

Tyson knocked over a barstool and told the officers to get the sheriff when they approached him. Then they tried to put handcuffs on him.

Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch were the "two primary officers" who answered the call, according to the police. Schoenegge's body camera recorded the footage.

“They’re trying to kill me,” Tyson said. “They’re trying to kill me.” Tyson shouted, “Call the sheriff” several more times and continued to say, “They’re trying to kill me.”

"You're going to get sprayed," someone could be heard saying as the police took him to the ground. Someone else was heard saying, "Don't spray him."

After Tyson was handcuffed, he repeatedly said, "I can't breathe," as one of the officers appeared to place his knee on top of Tyson's upper body. An officer told him to stop fighting and to calm down.

 "I can't breathe. I can’t breathe. You’re on my neck," replied Tyson. The video shows that the officer kneeled on Tyson for approximately thirty seconds. After making sure he had a pulse, the officer gave Tyson chest compressions when he was not responding.

Cause of Frank Tyson's death remains a mystery

In a news release on Friday, April 26, Canton police stated that they had been called to a report of a single vehicle collision that occurred on Thursday, April 25, shortly after 8:15 pm.

They claimed that witnesses led them to the AMVETS. “Shortly after securing him in handcuffs, Officers recognized that Tyson had become unresponsive,” the news release said.

Tyson got several doses of Narcan and CPR, the news release said, before the Canton Fire Department medics arrived. After that, he was brought to the hospital, where at 9:18 pm, he was pronounced dead.

The Stark County Coroner's Office chief investigator, Harry Campbell, said that the cause of his death is still a mystery. In addition to the body camera footage, the police also released recordings from two 911 calls.

According to a department statement, the police "immediately contacted" the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to request permission to conduct an independent investigation.

Without revealing Tyson's identity, the bureau confirmed that it is looking into a "fatal officer-involved critical incident" in earnest.

Canton mayor and chief of police express condolences to Frank Tyson's family

Tyson's family members were seated at the realese of the bodycam footage, according to Canton Mayor William Sherer II, "not only to allow them to see what is now being released to the public, but to give them my condolences in person."

Sherer stated in a statement that being as open and honest as possible was his aim about the incident.

“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 work,” he said.

Chief of Police John Gabbard said he sent his "deepest sympathy" to Tyson's family. “Based on experience, I am confident that BCI will conduct a very thorough review,” Gabbard said.

Sherer and Gabbard stated that their ability to speak and share information is restricted due to the ongoing investigation.

Department policy has put Schoenegge and Burch, who both joined in 2022 and are assigned to the traffic bureau, on paid administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.

Internet divided over police's actions

As soon as the news surfaced, internet users started reacting to the police's action. A user wrote, "That was actually sad, he laid there for 5 minutes and they didn’t even check on him. He literally said yall not gonna kill me, and they killed him."

Another user added,  "Sounds like they’ve been after him and intended to murder him. He knew it too."

The third commentator added, "Hes not part of the covert plan this will just blow by like another dude dying off fentanyl."

"Honestly, what else are the police supposed to do in that situation? It looks like they called for medical as they should have. The comments at the end are a terrible thing, but that could be dismissed as runoff adrenaline and shock," a fourth user concluded.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.