The family of Frank E. Tyson, the Canton man who died in police custody last month, held a news conference with attorneys Thursday, calling for action against the police department.
You can watch the news conference in its entirety. Warning: It contains graphic language.
Editor's note: There were some technical issues with the stream.
Tyson's family was joined by Bobby DiCello from the law firm DiCello Levitt, which represented the family of Jayland Walker, and Ben Crump, who represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Local church leaders and community activists were also in attendance.
During his remarks, Crump compared Tyson's death to other Black people who have died from police violence, specifically individuals like George Floyd and Eric Garner, calling what happened in Canton "George Floyd 2.0."
Like Floyd, Tyson told police, after he was already on the ground and handcuffed, that he wasn't able to breathe.
"How many more teachable moments, America, at the cost of Black people's lives, do we have to give you before you believe us when we say, 'I can't breathe,'" Crump said.
The attorneys repeatedly mentioned that the response to Tyson saying he couldn't breathe was a police officer saying, "You're fine. Shut the f**k up."
After Floyd, Crump said every officer in the country knew it was excessive force to put their knee on the back of someone who is detained, handcuffed and face down.
"That should be police training 101 now in America," Crump said.
When DiCello took to the pulpit, he raised a copy of the Canton Police Department's use of force policy.
"It's time to change your policy and the way you're training your officers," DiCello said while ripping the paper into pieces.
Crump called what happened to Tyson an assassination of character.
"They're going to try to convince you that Frank isn't worthy of your consideration because after they assassinate our person, they try to assassinate our character," Crump said.
He continued, "They did it with Trayvon Martin. They did it with Michael Brown in Ferguson. They did it with Eric Garner. They did it with Breonna Taylor. They did it with Tamir Rice. They did it with Jayland Walker. They did it with James Williams. They did it with Andre Hill. They did it with George Floyd. They did it with Darryl Ross.
"How many more Black people do they kill and then try to assassinate their character? This is part of their playbook; this is part of their MO."
Tyson's family said that they want justice, answers, accountability and due process.
The NAACP is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the case.
Canton Police respond to crash
According to Canton Police, officers responded to a one-vehicle crash in the 1700 block of Sherrick Road Southeast around 8:15 p.m. on April 18.
Officers found a power pole in the road and Tyson's vehicle empty. Police located Tyson a short distance away after witnesses pointed them towards the AMVETS lodge down the street.
Canton Police said that Tyson struggled with officers during his arrest and, after he was placed in handcuffs, became unresponsive. CPR and several doses of Narcan were administered before paramedics arrived.
Tyson was taken to Aultman Hospital, where police say he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.
'I can't breathe'
Canton Police later released video footage of Tyson's arrest.
Two Canton police officers, identified by the department as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, attempt to handcuff the 53-year-old Tyson at 8:27 p.m.
In the video, Tyson says: "They’re trying to kill me," and also says, "I can't breathe."
The struggle continues as officers get Tyson fully on the ground, one officer with his knee pressed on his back. Tyson was also handcuffed. Tyson continued to shout that he couldn’t breathe.
RELATED: Canton police body cam reveals 8-minute gap until CPR is given to suspect who died in police custody
An officer then takes his knee off Tyson’s back.
After Tyson is apprehended on the ground at 8:29 p.m., officers are seen looking through his wallet for an I.D. and talking to bystanders. Five minutes after Tyson said he couldn’t breathe for the final time, another officer came back in the frame at 8:34 p.m.
“Did he clam down?” asked the officer. “Is he breathing?”
The officer checked his pulse before walking out of the frame.
Minutes continue to pass.
“Does he have a pulse?” asked an officer at 8:37 p.m. “He’s unresponsive.”
According to the video, officers started CPR eight minutes after Tyson was last responsive on video. CPR continues for over 10 minutes as medics arrive on the scene until eventually stopping at 8:51 p.m. when Tyson is rolled out on a stretcher.
Tyson's family wants thorough investigation
Tyson’s niece, Jasmine, said she watched the video with police when it was released.
“He said that he didn't want to die,” Jasmine said. “He was like, ‘call the sheriff,’ and then when they finally got him down, he said that he couldn’t breathe.”
Jasmine said her uncle was released just weeks ago from a 24-year prison sentence. They didn’t get a chance to visit.
“We just kept saying, 'We are going to see each other, we are going to see each other,'” she said.
“I just hope BCI takes their time watching this because every inch and every time of that video needs to be played at the bar; that’s what they need to see,” Jasmine said. "It’s crazy, it’s nonsense.”
Differing viewpoints
Use of force experts differ on what the body camera video reveals.
Former law enforcement officer and use of force expert Kalfani Ture watched the body camera video and is questioning the officers' training.
"Once a suspect tells you that they cant breathe, you are just as responsible for preserving life," Ture said. "What's striking here is, I think, an indifference to the individual's humanity."
Ture said the amount of time it took to start CPR is troublesome.
"It's quite a bit of time. I mean, he goes silent," Ture said. "To go from being loquacious to not saying anything at all should have indicated to these well-trained officers."
However, another law enforcement expert, Tim Dimoff, saw the video differently.
"Once these officers knew that he was unconscious, they immediately take the handcuffs off," Dimoff said.
Dimoff feels the officers seemed unaware that Tyson had stopped breathing.
"I think they did everything they could within the few minutes of response time they had once they understood that potentially he was not responding," Dimoff said.
