Three Dallas cops charged in death of man who called 911 for help

Tony Timpa, 32, died within one hour of calling Dallas police for help in August 2016. (Facebook)

Three Dallas police officers were charged Thursday in connection with the death of an unarmed man who called 911 for help after getting anxious while high on cocaine.

Dallas police Sgt. Kevin Mansell, 48, and Officer Danny Vasquez, 32, were indicted on one count of misdemeanor deadly conduct in connection with the death of Tony Timpa, 32, who died in August 2016 within one hour of calling the police, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The third police officer is facing the same charge, but his name was not released as he had not yet surrendered to authorities.

The three officers, who were the first to respond to the 911 call, allegedly made fun of Timpa as he was dying and one officer pinned his knee on the man’s back for more than 14 minutes, the newspaper reported.

The charges come after a yearlong struggle by Timpa’s family to find out the exact reason the man died.

Vicki Timpa, the man’s mother, celebrated the indictment of the officers but told the News that she was bewildered that it was a misdemeanor and not a felony charge.

"They need to go to jail," she said. "I want them to smell the rust on the bars."

"They need to go to jail. I want them to smell the rust on the bars."

— Vicki Timpa, mother of Tony Timpa

Timpa added she would like the public to see what led to the death of her son, but officials declined to release body camera footage from that night.

On Aug. 10, unarmed and barefoot Timpa called 911 asking for help, saying he feared for his safety and was suffering from anxiety and schizophrenia, the News reported. He got handcuffed by a private security guard until the three Dallas police officers showed up.

The body camera footage reportedly shows the officers making fun Timpa as he struggles to breathe. One officer put his knee on the man’s bank for more than 14 minutes – all while Timpa was saying “Don't hurt me."

After Timpa lost consciousness, it took several minutes for the officers to begin CPR. "I hope I didn't kill him,” one of the now-indicted officers is heard saying on camera, according to the News.

The death of Timpa was ruled a homicide and the cause was sudden cardiac death due to cocaine and the stress related to psychical restraint.