'I can't breathe': Video shows moments before black man dies in police custody

An investigation has been launched after a black man died in police custody in the US.

Frank Tyson died as he was arrested by police officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch in Canton, Ohio, on 18 April at about 8.25pm.

The local police department has since released bodycam footage showing officers arresting the 53-year-old.

In the footage, Mr Tyson repeatedly says “I can’t breathe” as the two policeman arrested and handcuffed him, one kneeling on his back briefly.

He later falls silent, and almost five minutes after his last words, an officer checks Mr Tyson for a pulse, before realising he has none.

An ambulance would later arrive but Mr Tyson had already died.

‘They’re trying to kill me’

Officers responded to calls of a single car accident, and followed Mr Tyson into a bar after he allegedly fled the scene.

In the video, Mr Tyson resists arrest and is heard repeatedly shouting: “They’re trying to kill me.”

He also shouts “call the sheriff” while the police officers tell him to “calm down” as they arrest him.

The officers pin Mr Tyson on the ground, with one putting their knee on his back as they tell him to “stop fighting”.

Footage shows the officer with his knee on Mr Tyson’s back for about 30 seconds before he removes it.

Mr Tyson tells them once more that he cannot breathe before he eventually falls quiet.

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Around 8.29pm, Mr Tyson was on the ground and the footage showed officers looking through his wallet for ID, and talking to bystanders.

Over five minutes passes before another officer returns to the frame of the bodycam footage and asks if he was breathing.

The officer checks his pulse and disappears from view once more.

Then, at 8.37pm, an officer asks again whether Mr Tyson had a pulse after he did not respond to them.

They begin to apply CPR until an ambulance arrives.

Both police officers have since been placed on paid leave.

Just two weeks earlier, Mr Tyson had been released after a 24-year prison sentence, his niece told News 5 Cleveland.

She said they had planned to see one another – but had not gotten around to it before he died.

In a statement on News 5 Cleveland, William Sherer II, the mayor of Canton, said he met with members of Mr Tyson’s family.

“As we make it through this challenging time, my goal is to be as transparent with this community as possible,” he said. “This investigation is in the hands of BCI [Bureau of Criminal Investigations], and we will continue to provide them with all the required information they need to do their work.

“Given this is a pending investigation, we are limited on what further information we can provide.”

Sky News has contacted Canton Police Department for comment.

The latest incident is another death in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, another black man in police custody whose death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

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