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'You're gonna kill me!': Dallas police body cam footage reveals the final minutes of Tony Timpa's life

UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
Tony Timpa wailed and pleaded for help more than 30 times as Dallas police officers pinned his shoulders, knees and neck to the ground.

"You're gonna kill me! You're gonna kill me! You're gonna kill me!"

After Timpa fell unconscious, the officers who had him in handcuffs assumed he was asleep and didn't confirm that he was breathing or feel for a pulse.

As precious minutes passed, the officers laughed and joked about waking Timpa up for school and making him waffles for breakfast.

Body camera footage obtained Tuesday by The Dallas Morning News shows first responders waited at least four minutes after Timpa became unresponsive to begin CPR. His nose was buried in the grass while officers claimed to hear him snoring -- apparently unaware that the unarmed man was drawing his last breaths.
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Timpa called 911 on Aug. 10, 2016, from the parking lot of a Dallas porn store, saying he was afraid and needed help. He told a dispatcher he suffered from schizophrenia and depression and was off his prescription medication. The News first reported Timpa's death in a 2017 investigation that showed Dallas police refused to say how a man who had called 911 for help ended up dead.
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The newly obtained video and records, part of a lawsuit filed by Timpa's family in federal court alleging excessive force, contradict key claims Dallas police have made in defending the officers' actions.

Police incident reports recounting the officers' version of events claim Timpa's behavior that night was aggressive and combative. The video shows Timpa writhing at times and clearly struggling to breathe, asking the officers to stop pinning him down.
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He called them for help. They ended up laughing at him as he suffocated to death. Then they lied about it. Serve and protect indeed.

Also body cameras aren't working as a deterrent to bad police behaviour. At best they help in giving the victims families some sense of accountability which itself isn't guaranteed with how most of these cases end up being resolved. Not to mention how hard the politicians and police try to keep the video away from the public's eyes for years after the fact when many have forgotten about the death.

Everything is so fucked.
 
I Don't Like

I Don't Like

Member
Dec 11, 2017
14,898
If this was a family member of mine id probably do something to those cops to put me away forever. And I wouldn't feel at all bad about it.
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,360
Police are so terrible dealing with mental health. I wish there was a service like firefighters and ambulances that could send mental health professionals as emergency responders.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,861
Edmonton
If only there was some way to vet and train these people who are given potentially lethal power.

To at least give them some sense of how to deal with the general public and people with mental disabilities - it's not as if that's their job or anything.
 
skillzilla81

skillzilla81

Self-requested temporary ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,043
I can't wait for the protests, letters, and resignations from all the good cops who totally, absolutely, 100% condemn these fucking tragedies that keep happening.

Fucking evil ass motherfuckers.
 
SaraNWrap

SaraNWrap

Alt account
Banned
Jan 30, 2019
665
User Banned (1 Week) : Inflammatory commentary, hostility over a series of posts.
All. Cops. Are. Bastards.

There's only 1 type of cop that's good....
 
Betty

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
Thankfully the cops received written reprimands, so clearly they've been punished enough.
 
Camwi

Camwi

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,375
Are (or were) there protests over this? Hopefully people aren't becoming numb to this regular evil bullshit.
 
Greg NYC3

Greg NYC3

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,470
Miami
The way police officers in this country are trained encourages them to be as detached from empathy for others as possible and it leads to incidents like this. I've had so many debates with cops/former cops over the years which basically boiled down to "only my/my fellow officers lives are important, fuck everyone else".
 
Seneset

Seneset

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,072
Limbus Patrum
Maneil99 said:
Not familiar with the case, has this went to court yet, if at all?
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Yes and no.
An autopsy ruled Timpa's cause of death was a homicide, sudden cardiac death due to "the toxic effects of cocaine and the stress associated with physical restraint." They were then indicted by the grand jury on charges of misdemeanor deadly conduct . Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot dismissed the charges.

John Creuzot's Statement said:
Creuzot's statement said he met with "all three medical examiners" who had testified to the grand jury that indicted the officers. They told him they did not believe the officers acted recklessly and "cannot, and will not, testify to the elements of the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt."
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TransEuropaExpress

TransEuropaExpress

Member
Dec 6, 2017
10,989
US
I guess they had to escalate it to new heights by actually mocking and humiliating their dying prey.

I would never dispute this being a horrible job I'd never want to do but how is it possible to become this monumentally callous and misanthropic? Not even a shred of humanity seemingly left at all in these men, it's really startling and hideous. I've always been more than distrustful of cops after having had two fingers broken in a fake traffic stop when I was 20 but this constant deluge of utterly brutal videos especially over the past few years is insane.
 
GK86

GK86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,753
Fuck the goddamn police. How the fuck do you call 911 for help and end up dead? Pieces of shit joking around too. And then lying.

ACAB!!
 
Dubbedinenglish

Dubbedinenglish

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,326
Why weren't EMTs sent out first?

The whole murder shows why there are no such things as "good cops". How many officers aided these murderers in avoiding charges? Why did it take the victim's family suing in Federal court to get this footage?
 
Kyougar

Kyougar

Cute Animal Whisperer
Member
Nov 3, 2017
9,354
DJ_Lae said:
If only there was some way to vet and train these people who are given potentially lethal power.

To at least give them some sense of how to deal with the general public and people with mental disabilities - it's not as if that's their job or anything.
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"In the US, police training lasts on average 19 weeks," she writes, while "in much of Europe that would be unthinkable. In Germany, for example, police train for at least 130 weeks.
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Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,433
And the fraternal order of police will say nothing.

Which is why people say "All cops are bastards".
 
Violater

Violater

Member
Nov 19, 2017
1,450
Fuck...
I need to get off the internet for a while.. this is just too depressing.
How the entire country isn't burning is just beyond me.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,861
Edmonton
Kyougar said:
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Yeah, training and staffing is a huge issue and the bulk of the problem. There is little discretion in hiring - you get a lot of people who want to be a cop because of the power. It's like being head of a homeowner's association or a forum moderator...except you also get a gun.

And then you only give them the basics before unleashing them on the public. No deescalation techniques. Just a weapon and a badge and only about as much knowledge as they need to respond to calls and verbally/physically assault people into submission.
 
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