Ohio: The police in the US state of Ohio released a video of a Black man who died at a local hospital after repeatedly telling police officers, "I can't breathe" as they pinned him to the floor of a bar and handcuffed him, evoking painful memories of the police brutality shown in the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Frank Tyson, 53, was apprehended by police officers after being suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.
The 36-minute clip begins with a patrol officer coming upon a car that had struck an electrical pole and a bystander telling him that the driver of the vehicle had fled into a nearby tavern. Officers are then seen entering the establishment, where they find Tyson standing at the bar. An altercation ensued as they attempted to grab his arms, and he repeatedly shouted "They are trying to kill me" and "Call the sheriff."
(Warning: Video may contain disturbing content)
One officer had his knee on the man's back
Officers wrestled Tyson to the ground and handcuffed him. One of them is seen placing a knee on his back near his neck for about 30 seconds. Tyson can be heard repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe. I can't... get off my neck," as an officer yells "Calm down" and "You're fine" before standing up.
The next moments of the video show Tyson lying motionless, face down on the floor for about six minutes while officers were speaking with bar patrons. The officers then check on Tyson, who appears to be unresponsive. They can be heard saying, "Is he breathing?" and "Does he have a pulse?" They then proceeded to remove the cuffs and began CPR.
Tyson was taken out of the bar on a stretcher by paramedics and into a waiting ambulance, but he later died at the local hospital. The official cause of death has not been determined. The Canton Police Department was not immediately available for comment on the video, which was posted online by several local media outlets, or to confirm details about the incident.
According to police, Tyson rushed to the bar after crashing his car near the eastern limits of the city of Canton. The department identified the officers involved as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch of the 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.
George Floyd's death in 2020
The incident is reminiscent of Floyd's deadly encounter with Minneapolis police four years ago. A cellphone video of Floyd's killing, which went viral, unleashed a wave of protests worldwide against police brutality and racism. It shows a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd, who was Black, begs for his life, repeating "I can't breathe" before falling silent. Chauvin and three of his fellow officers were eventually convicted of manslaughter and other crimes.
However, police brutality on members of the Black community remains high, particularly in Ohio, leading to calls for accountability. Last year in September, Ohio authorities released bodycam video showing a police officer fatally shooting Ta’Kiya Young in her car in what her family denounced as a “gross misuse of power and authority” against the pregnant Black mother. Young was expected to give birth to a daughter in November.
Prior to that, Tyre Nichols died after being beaten by the police for roughly three minutes after being stopped for reckless driving. Five police officers, all of whom are also Black, were fired and later charged with various state felonies, including second-degree murder, and separately indicted by a grand jury on federal civil rights, conspiracy and obstruction offences.
(with inputs from Reuters)
