Canton police officers charged in Frank Tyson’s death have pleaded not guilty

by Junna Base November 8, 2024

(This story has been updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.)

CANTON – Two Canton police officers facing felony charges in the death of Frank Tyson while he was in custody in April have pleaded not guilty.

Beau Schoenegge, 25, and Camden Burch, 24, were indicted by a Stark County grand jury last week on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The men entered written pleas of not guilty before their scheduled court date Friday before Stark County Commons Pleas Judge Kristin G. Farmer.

They also declined to attend the arraignment, so there was no trial on Friday.

The men were booked into the Stark County Jail on Nov. 1. Both were released from jail Monday after posting $25,000 bail.

The third-degree felony charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Both officers are on administrative leave, according to Canton Security Director Andrea Perry. They were placed on administrative leave following the incident, but later returned to limited duty before being placed back on administrative leave.

(CORRECTION: The officers are now on administrative leave. Their status was incorrect when this story was first published. Nov. 8, 11:45 a.m.)

“Looks like a bit of home cooking”

Tyson’s supporters who showed up at the hearing were disappointed that the officers did not have to appear in court, said Bobby DiCello, an attorney for the family.

“They didn’t expect they wouldn’t be here,” DiCello said. “In your opinion, the officers seem to be getting special treatment. It looks like a bit of home cooking.”

DiCello said one option is for defendants to waive their appearance and file written pleas, but that doesn’t happen often.

It is at the discretion of the judge to accept the written plea, especially in a high-profile case, he added.

DiCello said the family respects the legal process and hopes it will be fair.

What happened to Frank Tyson?

Tyson, a black resident of Canton Township, died April 18 after a fight with police at the AMVETS building on Sherrick Road SE. He had entered the club after crashing a vehicle into a nearby utility pole, prompting residents to call police to have Tyson removed.

A fight ensued. Tyson was handcuffed and left face down on the ground for nearly eight minutes before an officer noticed he had no pulse.

Body camera video shows officers taking Tyson to the ground as he screamed that officers were trying to kill him.

An officer placed his knee on Tyson’s upper back and neck area for about a minute while another officer handcuffed him. Tyson said “I can’t breathe” several times.

“You’re fine,” one of the officers replied, putting his hand around Tyson’s handcuffed wrist. “Keep your mouth shut.”

Less than a minute after he was handcuffed, he fell silent.

A preliminary autopsy report released in August concluded that Tyson’s cause of death was homicide and that the cause of death was a combination of acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cardiopulmonary arrest, which caused his breathing to stop and his blood circulation stopped in connection with physical confrontation and restraint in the prone position.

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