CANTON, Ohio — The family of Frank Tyson, the man who died while in the custody of Canton police last month, held a press conference Thursday alongside attorneys Ben Crump and Bobby DiCello to call for justice.
"You all know George Floyd," DiCello said during the press conference. "I am shocked to tell you that this is George Floyd 2.0. This is George Floyd revisited."
DiCello's remarks came as he addressed the moments in which Tyson had told police he couldn't breathe.
“When a man tells you he can’t breathe, you’re never allowed to say, ‘Shut the f up.’ That’s why we’re here," DiCello said. "It appears that the city of Canton keeps law enforcement officers in its ranks that do not understand this. This simple act of human dignity that could’ve been offered to Frank was denied on the day he died. Just the simple dignity of being helped, just some basic help."
Crump also drew comparisons to Floyd's case.
“Eric Garner said, 'I can’t breathe.' George Floyd said, 'I can’t breathe.' Frank Tyson said, 'I can’t breathe.' How many more Black men in America have to tell police officers 'I can’t breathe' before police actually believe these Black men fighting for their last breaths on this earth? The reason we have to get justice for Frank Tyson is because there's been far too many Black men and Black women saying I can’t breathe. This can happen to your daughter. It can happen to your son. That’s why we have to get justice for Frank Tyson.”
3News streamed the entire press conference, which you can watch in the video below:
Tyson had just recently been released after serving 24 years in prison, which Crump claims was a wrongful conviction.
“Frank Tyson was robbed of his liberty for 24 years because of a racist, uncompassionate criminal justice system," Crump said. "Frank had been free less than two weeks before he was robbed of his life from a racist criminal justice system.”
At one point, DiCello also ripped apart a copy of the Canton Police Department's use-of-force policy.
“It doesn’t mean anything," DiCello said. "They’re pretty words, and pretty words don’t make good deeds. Pretty words don’t matter. It’s time to change your policy and the way you’re training your officers.”
Last Wednesday, The Canton Police Department released body camera footage showing the death of the 53-year-old Tyson while he was in police custody. The video included Tyson's last words "I can't breathe." In all, the 35-minute, 46-second video shows officers arriving to the scene, confronting Tyson, and attempting to take him into custody. After his last words, it also shows a period of 5-plus minutes where he laid motionless on the floor before police checked for a pulse.
The encounter occurred on April 18 when two officers responded to an AMVETS Post on Sherrick Road Southeast. Police say Tyson ran there after crashing his car near the eastern limits of the city of Canton. The video shows officers struggling to arrest Tyson before one of the officers restrains him by placing his knee on the back of Tyson's upper body. Tyson is heard on the video repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe."
The following individuals spoke at Thursday's press conference, which took place at St. Paul AME Church in East Canton:
- Reverend Dr. John H. McCants Jr., St. Paul AME Church leads opening prayers.
- Hector McDaniel, President, NAACP Thomas West, President/CEO Greater Stark County Urban League
- Reverend Dr. Walter Arrington, Peoples Baptist Church and President of the Greater Canton MLK Commission
- Members of Frank E. Tyson’s family
- Attorney Bobby DiCello, DiCello Levitt
- Attorney Ben Crump, Ben Crump Law
Two days after the bodycam video was released, DiCello, who is representing Tyson's family, told 3News, "The family is devastated, and we are motivated to get justice for Frank Tyson.”
Canton police identified the officers involved as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch of the department's 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.
Authorities initially acknowledged the incident on Friday, April 19, saying officers responded to a report of a one-vehicle crash in the 1700 block of Sherrick Road Southeast around 8:15 p.m. 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." After performing CPR and administering multiple doses of Narcan, Tyson was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.
3News' Tyler Carey and Justin McMullen contributed to this report.