A jury has been seated in the long-anticipated civil case against four Dallas police officers accused in the 2016 death of Tony Timpa.
Timpa, 32, died while in police custody. A body camera video released by the police department to NBC 5 and The Dallas Morning News showed officers mocking him as he pleaded for help dozens of times while restrained in handcuffs.
Timpa had initially called 911 from a parking lot saying he was afraid and unarmed and that he was off his medication for anxiety and schizophrenia.
Within about 20 minutes of police arriving, Timpa became unresponsive and died.
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Timpa's family is suing the city saying the officers used excessive force and violated his civil rights.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Timpa's death a homicide due to the effects of cocaine and being restrained and a Dallas County grand jury indicted three of the officers on misdemeanor charges of deadly conduct. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, however, dropped those charges in 2019 and declined to prosecute the case.
A federal appeals court ruled back in January that "qualified immunity" should not protect the officers from potential liability. The Supreme Court of the United States said it would not review the case, clearing the way for the civil case to proceed.
