Two former Canton police officers initially charged with reckless homicide in connection with the 2024 death of Frank Tyson were sentenced Thursday after accepting plea agreements that reduced the charges against them.
Visiting Judge James Kimbler handed down the sentences in Stark County Common Pleas Court, according to reporting from News 5 Cleveland.
Former officer Camden Burch, who pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree misdemeanor count of failure to report a crime, received a 30-day jail sentence that was suspended. He was placed on probation for two years.
Former officer Beau Schoenegge pleaded guilty to second-degree misdemeanor dereliction of duty. Kimbler sentenced him to 90 days in jail, also suspended, and three years of probation.
Both men had previously faced felony reckless homicide charges after being indicted by a Stark County grand jury in Tyson’s death. They accepted plea agreements in August and resigned from the Canton Police Department as part of the agreements.
Tyson’s brother, John Tyson, addressed the court before sentencing and later spoke about the family’s lengthy effort to seek accountability.
“No matter what jail sentence that they do receive, it’s not gonna bring my brother back,” Tyson told News 5. He said the conclusion of the criminal case brings the family closer to the end of what he described as a two-and-a-half-year struggle.
Bobby DiCello, an attorney representing Tyson’s family, told News 5 that officers should have repositioned Tyson after he repeatedly said he could not breathe.
An attorney for Schoenegge disputed that the officers caused Tyson’s death. Attorney Don Malarcik pointed to the autopsy findings, saying Tyson died from a heart attack and had underlying heart conditions. The defense has also maintained that Tyson was aggressive and that his death followed a roughly three-minute struggle with officers.
Special prosecutor Ray Grogan told News 5 after the hearing that he viewed the outcome as “a measure of justice,” while acknowledging it did not amount to what he described as full justice.
Neither former officer spoke during the sentencing, according to News 5.
A $13 million federal lawsuit filed in connection with Tyson’s death remains pending and names the former officers and the city of Canton as defendants.
Tyson died following an encounter with Canton police on April 18, 2024.
Police were initially called about 8:15 p.m. to a single-vehicle crash in the 1700 block of Sherrick Road Southeast. Officers found a utility pole down in the roadway and an unoccupied vehicle nearby. Witnesses directed police across the street to an AMVETS lodge, where officers encountered Tyson.
Body camera footage released by Canton police showed officers struggling with Tyson before taking him to the ground and handcuffing him. At one point, an officer could be seen with a knee on Tyson’s back while Tyson was restrained.
Tyson repeatedly told officers that he could not breathe during the encounter.
According to the previously released footage, officers began performing CPR about seven minutes after Tyson was handcuffed. Resuscitation efforts continued for approximately 10 minutes.
The criminal case against Burch and Schoenegge concludes with misdemeanor convictions rather than the reckless homicide charges they initially faced. The separate federal civil case remains unresolved.
