Two Canton officers plead not guilty in Frank Tyson case

CANTON, Ohio — Two Canton police officers charged in the death of Frank Tyson pleaded not guilty today, but not personally.

For the second time this week, officers did not physically appear in court.

“It’s hard to explain to a family that the people who allegedly killed your loved one shouldn’t do what everyone else apparently has to do, it was difficult,” Tyson family attorney Bobby DiCello. said.

Tyson died in April during an arrest that was captured on police body camera.

Controversial arrest tactics at the center of the Frank Tyson case

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Judges have discretion to decide how cases will proceed in court.

In this case, the officers’ attorneys filed papers waiving their client’s appearance and gave written statements of innocence.

DiCello gathered with Tyson’s family after today’s arraignment.

Officers Bo Schonegge and Camden Birch are out on bail. A grand jury indicted the two last week on criminally negligent homicide charges.

Canton police body camera video shows officers finding a wrecked car and a damaged power pole before crossing paths with Tyson at a veterans hall.

Tyson can be heard screaming for them to call the sheriff’s office before he is placed face down on the floor.

DiCello says Burch put his knee on Tyson’s back as he was handcuffed.

In the video, you can hear Tyson repeatedly telling police that he couldn’t breathe before he died.

Today, DiCello said it is up to the judge whether the two officers appear in person, and he is trying to explain the legal process to the family as best he can.

“They respect the judicial process and the authority of the judge to make such decisions, but they are concerned that the officers appear to be receiving special treatment. Who is this treatment for? I’m not saying that’s the judge’s opinion, but I’m saying that’s how the family thinks and sees it,” DiCello said.

Several dozen Canton officers went to court Monday for a bail hearing in support of the accused.

Dozens of Cantonese officers attend the bail hearing.

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Many officers sat behind the Tyson family or in an additional room.

Schonegge and Birch have set another trial date for later this month.