CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors in Ohio say they have filed reckless homicide charges against two police officers in the death of a man who was handcuffed and left face down on the ground while telling officers he couldn’t breathe at a Canton social club.

Charges against Canton officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch were brought by a grand jury in connection with the April 18 detention of East Canton resident Frank Tyson, 53, shortly after a vehicle break-in, Stark County District Attorney Kyle Stone told reporters Saturday. he said. Accident that cut a power pole.

Police body camera footage shows Tyson, a black man, resisting while being taken to the ground, repeatedly saying “They’re trying to kill me” and “Call the sheriff” and telling the police that he couldn’t breathe.

Officers told Tyson he was okay, to calm down and stop fighting as he was handcuffed face down, and officers joked with bystanders and went through Tyson’s wallet before realizing he was in a medical crisis.

The county medical examiner’s office ruled Tyson’s death in August a homicide, and contributing factors included heart disease and cocaine and alcohol poisoning.

The charges are third-degree felonies punishable by a maximum of 36 months in prison and a $10,000 fine, Stone said. In response to a question on Saturday, he said there was no evidence to support accusations against anyone who witnessed the incident.

The Stark County sheriff’s office confirmed Saturday that Schoenegge and Burch were booked into the county jail. An official said no information was available on who might represent them. The canton police department had previously announced that the duo had been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy.

Bobby DiCello, an attorney for the Tyson family, said in a statement that the arrests were a relief because the officers involved in what he called Tyson’s “inhumane and brutal death” could not evade investigation. But he calls it “bittersweet because it formalizes something they’ve known for a long time: Frank is a murder victim.”

Hector McDaniel, president of the county’s NAACP chapter, called the accusations “consistent with the behavior we’ve seen.”

“We believe we are moving in the right direction toward transparency, accountability and truth,” McDaniel said, according to the Canton Repository.

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Tyson was released from state prison on April 6 after serving 24 years in a kidnapping and robbery case and was declared in violation of post-release supervision for failing to report to his parole officer. .