The death of a 53-year-old Ohio man who died in police custody in April after repeatedly telling officers he “couldn’t breathe” has been ruled a homicide.
Frank Tyson died April 18 after being handcuffed and placed face-down at the AMVETS camp in Canton, about 60 miles south of Cleveland. A preliminary autopsy report released Monday by Stark County Coroner’s Chief Investigator Harry Campbell listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest related to the physical confrontation and prone restraint, as well as acute intoxication from cocaine and ethanol.
A murder conviction does not mean a crime was committed.
In the roughly 36-minute video of the incident, Tyson can be heard resisting being handcuffed and repeatedly saying “They’re trying to kill me” and “Call the sheriff” as he is taken to the ground.
Body camera footage shows police approaching Frank Tyson at the AMVETS station in Canton Township, Ohio, on April 18. Canton Police Department
As he was handcuffed, one of the officers appeared to place his knee on Tyson’s torso, and Tyson repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” As Tyson was handcuffed face-down, the officers told him he was OK, to stay calm and to stop resisting. One of the officers searched his wallet.
Tyson appeared to lie motionless on the floor for more than five minutes while at least one officer spoke with bar patrons, with one officer saying, “I’ve always wanted to start a bar fight. I don’t know if this counts.”
Tyson lay motionless for more than five minutes before his pulse was checked.
Tyson, who is Black, had been taken into custody after a single-vehicle crash that downed a utility pole. A passing driver, whose face is blurred in the video, directed officers to an AMVETS station. A woman opened the door to the building and demanded that police remove Tyson. When officers approached Tyson at the bar, he knocked over a bar stool and indicated they should call the sheriff. In the video, one of the officers can be heard asking Tyson if he was calm and breathing. The officers checked for a pulse and then performed chest compressions on Tyson, who was unresponsive.
The two officers, both white, were hired in 2022 and are currently on paid administrative leave.
