Dallas Police Forced to Release Video
August 2016, Tony Timpa called 911 from a porn store. He told the dispatcher that he had schizophrenia and had not been taking his medication. Tony also told her that he had anxiety issues and that he was afraid for his safety. He then left the store and ran into the street. Security officers brought him back to an area of safety and handcuffed him.
When the police arrived they questioned Tony who admitted to taking Coke. As you can see from the video, Tony repeatedly asks them not to kill him. The police kneel on Tony’s back for almost 14 minutes while having him in a face down position. After about 11 minutes of having his back kneeled on, Tony goes silent and begins to make snoring noises. The officers even joke about him going to sleep and keep trying to wake him up while they continue to laugh at him.
This is so disgusting. A person snores because their air passage is being blocked by something. It means they are having trouble breathing. This needs to be drummed into every officer’s head. A person can even be having trouble breathing and still be able to say they are having trouble breathing yet officers everywhere are being taught that if they can speak, then they can breath. Yes, some air may be getting through but it doesn’t necessarily mean ENOUGH air is getting through.
For some unknown reason, after Tony has lost consciousness, the paramedics administer an extremely strong sedative. It doesn’t say anything in the article but I rather doubt that has helpful. It seems that would have made it even harder for him to breath. Tony is loaded onto a gurney and placed in the ambulance. His limp body has one of the officer’s questioning whether he is okay and if he’s alive. Once Tony is inside the ambulance the paramedics inform the officers that Tony is not breathing and is dead.
Dallas Police Department along with their District Attorney’s Office, fought the release of the video. After watching it, it’s easy to see why. It’s hard to watch these officers laughing and joking while they are killing a man. Timpa’s death was ruled a homicide, however, the District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against the officers.