Dallas police officers to go to trial over death of Tony Timpa
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A wrongful death lawsuit against four current and former Dallas police officers will go to trial following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The city of Dallas argued to the nation's highest court that the officers had immunity from civil legal action over the death of Tony Timpa in 2016.
This ruling means a death investigation that the city of Dallas considered closed will be reopened in a civil trial, exposing the city to as much as $20 million in damages.
The last 14 minutes of Tony Timpa's life were documented on police worn body cameras.
In August 2016, the 32-year-old businessman from Rockwall called Dallas police to report that he was off his medication for schizophrenia and depression.
He was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by four responding officers and at one point, told the officers they were going to kill him before he passed out and died.
"The body camera tells the story in grizzly graphic painful detail," said Dallas Attorney Geoff Henley, who represents Timpa's family.
Henley represents Timpa's family in a wrongful death lawsuit that the city argued should be dismissed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court because of qualified immunity.
Today, the court ruled against that argument and that the case can go to trial.
"We were happy and relieved this decision finally paved the way for this case in front of a jury," Henley said.
Criminal charges filed by the Dallas County District Attorney's office against the officers were dropped and three returned to duty while one retired.
"Nothing these officers did contributed to the death of Tony Timpa," said Robert Rodgers.
Rogers was the officer's attorney during the criminal investigation and says an autopsy showed cocaine contributed to Timpa's death during justifiable physical restraint.
"It was a medical issue that was brought on by a snowball of circumstances that were mainly caused by the lifestyle of Tony Timpa himself," Rodgers said.
