City Of Dallas Wants Another Hearing After Tony Timpa Died In Their Custody

Nearly five years ago, Tony Timpa died in police custody.

Now, the city of Dallas wants the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to hear the case again, regarding four officers.

A review of the matter is wanted after a three-judge panel from the appellate court decided that the officers had no valid immunity from a wrongful death lawsuit.

In 2016, Tony Timpa died in the custody of police. He was put in the prone position with an officer putting his weight on his neck and back for 14 minutes. It happened at a bus stop on Mockingbird Lane.

Timpa had first called authorities for assistance while having a mental health issue. He had not taken his medicine but was on cocaine. His family stated that he suffered from schizophrenia.

When Timpa’s mother filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit in a lower court, it was thrown out.

Since that decision was overturned, the city of Dallas would like a full-court review.

Last month, it was decided that the officers should’ve been aware that the prone position could lead to death.

But Dallas’s lawyers say that it was only after George Floyd died in the prone position that police policies began to change.

The matter at hand is whether or not The Fifth Court Of Appeals made it plain that prone restraints were illegal and every officer should’ve known that before it gained national attention.