Why haven’t you heard of Tony Timpa? Why weren’t there riots when he died an identical death to George Floyd? Because he was white, that’s why.
Body camera footage obtained 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.
Dallas police body camera footage shows a 32-year-old man’s last moments after he was pinned to the ground by officers.
The man, Tony Timpa, had called 911 from the parking lot of a pornography store on Aug. 10, 2016, telling the dispatcher he needed help, the Dallas Morning News and NBC5 reported after a lengthy investigation. He said he had schizophrenia and was off his medication. By the time the police arrived, Mr. Timpa was highly agitated and had been handcuffed by security guards.
The video footage shows how responding officers restrained Mr. Timpa as he pleaded for them to let him go.
“You’re going to kill me,” he shouted repeatedly.
The officers pinned his handcuffed arms behind his back for nearly 14 minutes and zip-tied his legs together. By the time he was loaded onto a gurney and put into an ambulance, the 32-year-old was dead.
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 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.
On a custodial death report submitted to the state in 2016, the department answered “no” to questions about whether Timpa resisted arrest, threatened or fought officers.
Police had previously claimed to use only enough force necessary to block Timpa from rolling into a busy section of Mockingbird Lane. In the first minute, Timpa rolls around near the curb. But the video shows a police car clearly blocks traffic about a minute later near the bus bench where the officers had pinned him. Several officers continue pressing his restrained body into the ground.
About the Author
White lives don’t matter is the simple answer – no political mileage in them.
When a white person is killed by the police, ho hum, essentially.
No mob goes out in the street to loot and burn down the property of others.
No mob goes out on the street to howl “WHITE LIVES MATTER” over and over and over.
And so they don’t.