an African-American dies of suffocation under the knee of a police officer

Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old African-American man, was killed during his arrest by two police officers in Canton, Ohio.

A chilling sequence. For several days, images of the arrest of Frank Tyson, a 52-year-old black man, have been making the rounds in the American media. On April 18, in a bar in the town of Canton, Ohio, images from the pedestrian camera of one of the two police officers involved in the case showed Frank Tyson resisting them as they came to ‘question. The two officers suspect the man of being involved in a traffic accident.

Despite Frank Tyson’s protests, the African-American was pinned to the ground and handcuffed. As he struggles, one of the police officers places his knee on the suspect’s neck to control him. That’s when he starts repeating that he can’t breathe. “I can’t breathe,” he shouts several times in the direction of the police. The same words were used by George Floyd, another black man who died in 2020 after long minutes spent dying under the knee of a police officer.

The two police officers suspended

When the policeman gets up, Frank Tyson no longer reacts. After many minutes, the police removed the handcuffs and performed a cardiac massage, before being relayed by the firefighters. Frank Tyson was pronounced dead a few hours later at the hospital. The exact cause of his death has not yet been officially determined.

Canton police say the two officers involved have been suspended while the investigation is carried out by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The mayor of Canton, Williams Sherer II, indicates that he spoke with the family of the deceased “in order to offer my condolences to the deceased” and “to view with them the images that were revealed to the public” by the Canton police, a week after the incident.