A jarring video of a Black man has been released by the Ohio police wherein the man can be seen being subdued by officers. The 53-year-old man, Frank Tyson, 53, has died at a local hospital after telling officers “I can’t breathe” as they pinned him to the floor of a bar and handcuffed him. Tyson was suspected of fleeing the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.
The video has been posted online by several local media outlets.
What does the video show?
The 36-minute video begins with a patrol officer coming upon a car that had struck an electrical pole and a bystander telling him that the driver of the vehicle had fled into a nearby tavern. The officers are then seen entering the establishment, where they find Tyson standing at the bar. An altercation ensued as they attempted to grab his arms, and he repeatedly shouts “They are trying to kill me” and “Call the sheriff.”
Officers subdued Tyson, pinning him to the ground and handcuffing him. In the footage, one officer is observed kneeling on Tyson’s back near his neck for approximately 30 seconds.
Tyson can be heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe. I can’t… get off my neck,” as an officer yells “Calm down” and “You’re fine” before standing up. Subsequently, the video portrays Tyson lying motionless, face down on the floor for approximately six minutes, as officers engage in conversation with bar patrons.
The officers then check on Tyson, who appears to be unresponsive. They can be heard saying, “Is he breathing?” and “Does he have a pulse?”
Eight minutes after the officers handcuffed Tyson, they remove the cuffs and begin CPR. Paramedics then arrive at the scene and take Tyson out of the bar on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance, the video shows.
(With Reuters input)
