On August 10, 2016, Anthony "Tony" Allen Timpa, a 32-year-old, unarmed white man, was killed in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

by police officer Dustin Dillard. Officers had responded to a call by Timpa requesting aid for a mental breakdown due to the fact that he had not taken his prescription medication for

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

and depression. Dillard pushed his body weight onto Timpa on the ground for around 14 minutes after he was already restrained, and officers ignored pleas from Timpa that he was in pain and was afraid he was going to die. Timpa's death was ruled a

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

due to "the stress of being restrained and extreme physical exertion" and toxic effects of previous

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

use. No criminal charges have been filed, but in 2021, a judge ruled that a

wrongful death Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...

lawsuit filed by Timpa's family had merit and could go to trial. The civil trial concluded in September 2023, with the jury awarding Timpa's son $1 million.

Background

Timpa was a 32-year-old American trucking company executive from

Rockwall, Texas Rockwall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the County seat, seat of Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall County. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that as of 2023, Rockwall's population is 52,918, up from 47,251 in the 2020 census. The name Roc ...

. He had called

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

for aid, telling the dispatcher that he had

and depression but had not taken his

prescription medication A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs ca ...

. He also stated that he had taken

. According to an autopsy conducted three days after Timpa's death, he had 0.647 milligrams per litre of cocaine in his body. The chief medical examiner of Dallas County described it as a significant amount.

Incident

Timpa had already been handcuffed by a security guard when a group of officers arrived. They restrained him on the ground while he squirmed, repeatedly crying out, "You're gonna kill me!" After he fell unconscious, the officers assumed he was asleep and, rather than confirm that he was breathing or feel for a pulse, joked about waking him up for school and making him breakfast. They kept him prone on grass for nearly 14 minutes and zip-tied his legs together, one pressing his knee into Timpa's back. One of the paramedics called to the scene administered the sedative Versed. The responders began to panic only as they loaded Timpa's body onto a gurney, one exclaiming, "He didn’t just die down there, did he?" Timpa died within 20 minutes of police officers' arrival of "cocaine and the stress associated with physical restraint", according to his autopsy.

Legal proceedings

It took over three years for footage of the incident to be released. The footage contradicted claims by Dallas Police that Timpa was aggressive. The officers involved were Sgt. Kevin Mansell and Officers Danny Vasquez and Dustin Dillard. Criminal charges against three officers were dropped in March 2019 and they returned to active duty. An

excessive force Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

civil lawsuit against the officers was dismissed by U. S.

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

David C. Godbey in July 2020 on the basis of

qualified immunity In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle of federal law that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from lawsuits for damages unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "c ...

. On December 15, 2021, the

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

issued a decision reversing the trial court decision giving the officers qualified immunity, which means the Timpa family won the right to go to trial in their case against Dillard. In September 2023, a jury found three officers liable for Timpa's

, awarding Timpa's son $1 million. The officers' lawyers had argued that the cocaine content in Timpa's system was what killed him. The Timpa family's lawyers had argued for hundreds of millions of dollars to be given to the Timpa estate, Timpa's parents, and Timpa's son. Two jurors later said they regretted not giving Timpa's family more in damages.

Reactions

Timpa's death came to prominence in 2020 after the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

, who died in a similar way. When

Derek Chauvin Derek Michael Chauvin ( ; born 1976) is an American former police officer who Murder of George Floyd, murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old African Americans, African American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrest ...

was convicted of murdering Floyd, a number of commentators drew comparisons between Floyd and Timpa. Ryan Mills, writing in the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', claimed that "There was no national uproar after Timpa's death. No national cries for justice and reform. The city of Dallas paid no settlement to Timpa's family." Mills also said "there was more community pressure" in the Floyd case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timpa, Tony 2016 in Texas 2019 controversies in the United States Dallas Police Department Timpa Filmed killings by law enforcement Police brutality in the 2010s August 2016 crimes in the United States 2010s crimes in Texas Deaths by person in Texas Filmed killings in North America