Rejecting an appeal by Dallas police officers, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on May 31 to allow a lawsuit to proceed against them after Tony Timpa, a mentally ill man, died in police custody.
The case goes back to August 2016 when Timpa, 32, called 911 to report that he was “having a lot of anxiety” about a man he said he was afraid would harm him. Timpa said during the call that he suffered from schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder, but had failed to take his medication that day. When police responded to the scene, Timpa cried out, “You’re gonna kill me!” according to a summary in Reason.
