NAACP Urges Federal Probe Following Death Of Black Man’s ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Encounter With Police

DEBARYLIFE – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been urged by the NAACP to look into the death of a 53-year-old Black man who passed away while being arrested despite alerting police officials several times that he was having trouble breathing.

On April 18, Frank Tyson passed away during an altercation with Ohio police officers in the bar of the American Veterans (AMVETS) post in Canton.

In a correspondence to Kristen Clarke, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, expressed his profound distress at this awful incident.

Johnson wrote in the letter, which NBC News first received, that “the police officers may not be held accountable for their actions without federal intervention.” “We demand accountability and justice.”

A DOJ spokesman acknowledged receiving the letter to The Hill, but at this point, they would not comment further.

The interaction was captured on camera, during which one of the cops put his knee on Tyson’s upper body as he was handcuffed. Tyson continues to tell the officers, “I can’t breathe,” but they don’t seem to be responding.

Tyson appears lifeless and stops moving once the officers seat him up. Before the medics from the Canton Fire Department could arrive, first responders performed CPR and several doses of Narcan.

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After being taken to the hospital, Tyson was declared deceased at 9:18 p.m.

The murder of George Floyd in 2020, a Black man who passed away after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes, is similar to Tyson’s demise.

Floyd also said, “I can’t breathe,” to the police as he was being arrested.

Johnson wrote on the social media network X on Wednesday, saying, “Frank Tyson should be alive today.” “We are forced to witness yet another unarmed Black man cry out for air at the hands of law enforcement, nearly 4 years after the tragic death of George Floyd.”

On April 18, the Canton Police Department named Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch as the “two primary officers.” The two, who work for the traffic bureau, are placed on paid administrative leave while the matter is looked into.

Attorney Bobby DiCello for Tyson’s family told NBC News that Tyson’s humanity was not taken into consideration by the Canton Police Department.

“It is absurd that an officer would kneel someone in 2024 and that the last words he may have heard were, ‘You’re fine, eff you,'” DiCello stated. The victim had been complaining that he was having trouble breathing. It’s possible he was unable to recognize that.

At that point, the Canton police revealed the details of George Floyd’s silent death. The silent portion is being said aloud by them. You can tell them straight out or demonstrate it by your deeds.