US Police Officer Boasts About Desire to Engage in Bar Fight After Black Man’s Death.

The release of body camera footage showing Ohio Police officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar has resulted in intense scrutiny for the department. The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18. In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson’s pleas for help and his repeated cries of “I can’t breathe,” officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, “You’re fine.”

Tyson continued to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers noticed his lack of responsiveness and proceeded to administer CPR. Paramedics arrived on the scene and transported Tyson to a local hospital, where he later died. The circumstances surrounding Tyson’s death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd’s fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020, sparking global outrage.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a “bar fight” with one of the patrons of the establishment. The officers involved in Tyson’s case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.