CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — The Marion County prosecutor is set to take over as special prosecutor in the high-profile Frank Tyson case in Canton, just six weeks before trial.
Canton police officers Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch are both charged with reckless homicide in the death of Tyson while in custody in April 2024.
Their trial is scheduled to begin in late January.
Tomorrow, Marion County prosecutor Ray Grogan will make his first appearance in court as special prosecutor.
The decision to bring in a special prosecutor was contentious.
In November 2024, Stark County prosecutor Kyle Stone announced the indictment of Schoenegge and Burch.
“My office will independently prosecute this case,” Stone said.
Tyson’s death was compared to George Floyd’s death in May 2020.
Canton police body camera video from April 2024 shows Tyson’s final moments when he was on his stomach, handcuffed with an officer’s knee on his back.
Tyson is heard uttering the words, ‘I can’t breathe’, seven times. Seven minutes passed from the time the cuffs went on to when officers realized something was wrong.
Like the Floyd case, the two officers were charged.
“We’re going to take this small win and just build upon it and go to the next stage," Tyson's brother, John Tyson, said in 2024.
More than a year later, a trial is set to begin in January 2026, but Stone is no longer part of the case
In November, defense attorneys questioned why Stone waited three months before trial to ask the court to appoint a special prosecutor.
Stone said Canton police were hostile toward his office but never took the stand to give concrete details.
"We basically put the case in the position where the special council could take it and move forward with it with no issues,” Stone said.
A resolution both sides came to in early December was not discussed in open court.
Stone first asked the Ohio Attorney General’s office for help, but was declined. Court records show Stone then went to the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, and Grogan stepped up.
This process for special prosecutors isn’t just happening in Stark County. Ottawa County’s prosecutor was just tapped for a Lorain County case.
A private attorney is looking at the Tasha Grant case, a woman who died in Cuyahoga County’s custody.
The same for a deadly chase that killed Sharday Elder in August, and the October 2024 shooting of a 15-year-old boy by different deputies on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Downtown Safety Patrol.
So, how is a special prosecutor chosen?
Usually, it starts when a conflict of interest appears, either right away or down the road in a case.
The Ohio Attorney General's office has a Special Prosecutions Unit that typically accepts high-level felony cases. Other times, a prosecutor asks a counterpart.
“It’s important for us if there is any sort of conflict, we want to take steps to have somebody independent come in,” Jefferson County prosecutor Jane Hanlin said.
Hanlin prosecuted well-known Cleveland and Columbus restaurant owner Bobby George.
RELATED: Bobby George expected to plead guilty to attempted strangulation, a fifth degree felony
Last month, George pleaded guilty to attempted strangulation in a domestic violence case involving a woman he was dating.
He was originally charged with attempted murder, rape, and kidnapping.
A case criticized over whether George would get special treatment.
“My promise to the people here was that I would look at the case with clean eyes and I did that,” Hanlin said.
Hanlin’s office is in Steubenville, more than two hours from Cleveland.
“I received a call from Michael O’Malley, who’s the prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, who indicated he might have a potential conflict because Mr. George’s father had donated to his campaign,” Hanlin said.
Hanlin says she fit the bill since she was nowhere near where George does business.
“Because he is very well known in the community and there’s always a tendency for people to think that if somebody is going to get special favors is their treatment is going to be different than what would happen if it were a member of my family or a friend of mine. In those cases, we want to be able to assure the public right away that’s not going to happen,” Hanlin said.
Her circle was small, meaning only the Cleveland detective, the victim, and the victim’s advocate.
“I think it’s an indication that prosecutors as a whole, in my experience over the twenty-plus years I’ve been a prosecutor, is that we want to be fair,” Hanlin said.
The visiting judge in Stark County just signed off on Marion County prosecutor Ray Grogan in the Canton case.
Tomorrow, Grogan will be in court to be brought up to speed.
