Canton police release bodycam footage from in-custody death

CANTON, Ohio (WJW) – The Canton Police Department has released body camera footage from April 18, where they confirm a man died after a brief struggle at an AMVETS location.

There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the incident, but the footage was sent out by the City of Canton in the interest of transparency.

On April 18 at roughly 8:27 p.m., Canton police arrived to AMVETS on Sherrick Road after multiple 911 calls following a car accident that took out a telephone pole.

“He’s screaming at our members, he won’t leave,” one caller said. “Can you hear him in the background? We have already called once before, he won’t leave. He said somebody’s trying to kill him in the parking lot, but there’s nobody in the parking lot.”

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as 53-year-old Frank E. Tyson, went into the AMVETS location after the crash for unknown reasons.

When police arrived, they moved to apprehend Tyson and a struggle ensued.

“They’re trying to kill me,” Tyson said. “They’re trying to kill me.”

It took multiple officers to detain Tyson.

“Calm down,” one officer said. “Calm down.”

Tyson could be heard shouting in distress.

“I can’t breathe,” Tyson said. “I can’t breathe, you’re on my neck.”

At one point in the video, an officer can be seen kneeling on Tyson for close to 30 seconds, but then moves away after Tyson is placed in cuffs.

Shortly after, Tyson becomes unresponsive, lying face down on the carpet.

“Did he calm down?” an officer said before checking on Tyson after several minutes.

“He might be out,” an officer said.

Several minutes pass by before Tyson was checked again. Then, officers worked to take off the handcuffs and started chest compressions.

“Come on, man,” an officer said while shaking Tyson to wake him up.

Officers then started chest compressions in rotations to resuscitate Tyson. Officers also administered two doses of Narcan.

The fire department also attempted to revive Tyson. Emergency medical personnel arrived nearly 20 minutes after Tyson’s last verbal response, taking him off on a stretcher, then to Aultman Hospital where he would be pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.

FOX 8 spoke to the Harry Campbell, the chief investigator at the Stark County Coroner’s Office.

He said an autopsy was performed on Monday in Cuyahoga County and verbal results were given, but toxicology is pending so the full report won’t be released for up to six weeks. The death is being investigated as an “in custody death.”

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is now looking into the matter.

Canton Mayor William V. Sherer II issued a statement regarding the incident:

“I sat down with members of the Tyson family to not only allow them to see what is now being released to the public, but to give them my condolences in person. As we make it through this challenging time, my goal is to be as transparent with this community as possible. 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.”

Two officers have been placed on leave, per standard policy.

Fox 8’s Tino Bovenzi tried to reach Tyson’s relatives via social media, but those attempts were unsuccessful.

Tyson was recently released from prison for a kidnapping charge where he served 24 years in prison, according to records from the Stark County Court of Appeals.

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