A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit filed in the death of a man while in the custody of Dallas Police Officers can proceed.
U.S. District Judge David Godbey dismissed the lawsuit brought by the family of Tony Timpa against four Dallas Police Officers over Timpa’s death in 2016, ruling that the officers were protected from liability in Timpa’s death by the qualified immunity doctrine.
Qualified immunity doctrine shields officers from potential liability while performing their duties legally.
The 2020 ruling read, in part, that the Plaintiffs did not meet the “burden to identify law that affirmatively establishes that conduct like Defendants’ conduct is unconstitutional,” noting, “Here, the Court determines that Plaintiffs’ excessive force claims cannot succeed, even assuming the Defendants’ conduct constitutes excessive force, because there was no law clearly establishing Defendants’ conduct as a constitutional violation prior to August 10, 2016 — the date that the challenged conduct occurred. ”
However, the federal appeals court ruled on February 4 that Timpa’s family can proceed with their lawsuit.
Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement wrote for the three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court that qualified immunity protects conduct that does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
Timpa’s family accused Dallas Police Officer Dustin Dillard of using excessive force on the victim by pressing his knee into Timpa’s back. The family also accused Officers Danny Vasquez and Domingo Rivera, Sgt. Kevin Mansell and Senior Cpl. Raymond Dominguez of failing to save Timpa from Dillard.
The Court overturned the summary judgment for Dillard, Vasquez, Mansell, and Dominguez, but affirmed the summary judgment releasing Rivera from liability.
“Dillard’s continued use of force was not justified by a criminal investigatory function,” Clement continued. “The officers concede that Timpa’s criminal liability was `minor’ — no more than a traffic violation,” alleging “the officers did not intend to charge him with any crimes.”
Timpa died while in police custody on August 10, 2016, after he called 911 from a Dallas parking lot saying he needed help and was afraid of a man that was with him, according to court documents.
Timpa also told the dispatcher that he had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety and that he had not taken his medications that day. Upon arrival, Dallas Police Officers found Timpa walking in traffic.
Bodycam footage from the officers showed them restraining Timpa by pinning him to the ground for over 14 minutes and discovering afterward that he had died.
According to the Dallas County medical examiner who conducted Timpa’s autopsy, Timpa died from “sudden cardiac death due to the toxic effects of cocaine and physiological stress associated with physical restraint.”
The medical examiner also acknowledged that due to “his prone position and physical restraint by one of the officers,” an element of mechanical or positional asphyxia can not be completely ruled out.
In Goodbey’s 2020 ruling, the Court stated: “Timpa presented a danger to himself and others … And prone restraint was not the Defendants’ first resort — they did not roll Timpa over until he again lurched towards the road, after Vasquez and Dillard’s arrival. Even after being rolled onto his stomach, Timpa continued to yell, toss his head, and struggle to move his torso and limbs. He repeatedly kicked at officers. … Further, paramedics were present during the entirety of the Defendants’ roughly fourteen-minute prone restraint of Timpa and never indicated that the Defendants were harming Timpa or that they should move him.”
Dallas City Officials do not comment on pending litigation, according to a spokesperson.