Dallas, TX — A recently released body camera footage showed what really happened in a 2016 incident where Tony Timpa, an unarmed man, died after he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground for several minutes despite his repeated pleas to let him go. Police officers were even heard mocking Timpa when he fell unconscious, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was already dying.
The body camera footage obtained from Dallas Police Department was first released by The Dallas Morning News last week — three years since Timpa’s family fought for the release of records related to his death as part of their lawsuit alleging excessive force against the police department. A federal judge said that “the public has a compelling interest in understanding what truly took place during a fatal exchange between a citizen and law enforcement.”
On August 10, 2016, 32-year old Timpa was reportedly in the parking lot of a Dallas porn store when he called 911, saying he needed help. He mentioned that he has schizophrenia and depression but he was not taking his medication.
After that, Timpa was found restrained and handcuffed by private security officers when police arrived on the scene, court documents stated. Police claimed that he was arrested “due to his erratic behavior” and officers used only enough force to restrain Timpa.
However, the recently released body camera footage tells a completely different story. Several officers can be seen pinning Timpa to the ground, face down in the grass while his arms are handcuffed behind his back and his legs are zip-tied together.
Timpa can be seen struggling, pleading the officers to let him go as he screamed repeatedly, “You’re gonna kill me! You’re gonna kill me!”
His nose was buried in the grass when he fell unconscious but the officers didn’t check if he still has a pulse or if he was still breathing. Instead, they laughed and joked about waking him up for school and making him waffles for breakfast. One officer then seemed to imitate a teenager, saying: “I don’t want to go to school! Five more minutes, Mom!”
Paramedics then put him onto a gurney and into an ambulance before they stated that he was not breathing anymore.
According to an autopsy report, Timpa has died as a result of “sudden cardiac death due to the toxic effects of cocaine and physiologic stress associated with physical restraint.”
In 2017, three police officers were indicted on charges of misdemeanor deadly conduct. But it was dismissed in March after three medical examiners said that “they do not believe the officers acted recklessly.”