Tony Timpa's wrongful death trial delayed until at least September
DALLAS - Proceedings were put on hold in a federal courtroom for a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Dallas and four police officers.
The trial was scheduled to begin Monday morning, but federal judge David Godbey stopped the proceedings after sending observers and reporters from his courtroom to a different floor in the federal building.
15 to 20 minutes later a court staffer told FOX 4 the trial would not go forward.
"I don't think that's normal, for a federal judge to call a jury panel and then for some reason to decide not to use it," said former U.S. attorney Richard Roper.
Godbey issued a continuance in the trial that has taken seven years to get to trial.
"If the judge is concerned about pre-trial publicity he may be continuing the case to see if that publicity moderates so he doesn't have to worry about the effect of the publicity on the jury panel, the potential jurors," said Roper.
Tony Timpa died in police custody in 2016. He called 911 for help in a mental health crisis. He was off his medicine and afraid he might harm himself or others.
According to the medical examiner, he had cocaine in his system.
Timpa had been handcuffed by security guards before police arrived.
Police officers kept him in the prone position about 14 minutes, one responding officer held his knee on Timpa’s back and neck.
Timpa died with paramedics working on him.
Body camera video released years later also showed other officers mocking the dying man.
Four officers were indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury, the district attorney dismissed the charges.
The medical examiner ruled that Timpa's cause of death was sudden cardiac arrest from the combination of cocaine and stress on his body from the restraint police placed him in.
There had been a protracted legal battle over whether the officers had qualified immunity, preventing them for civil liability for his death.
Timpa’s family filed a lawsuit claiming the city and the officers share responsibility for his death.
Dallas tried to argue the officers are legally protected from lawsuits, but the Supreme Court upheld a federal appeals court’s ruling that allowed the case to proceed.
Dallas officers involved in death of man in custody said mocking him was part of their strategy
Details of what Dallas police officers told internal affairs about the death of a man in their custody became public for the first time on Friday.
There were reports revisiting the case leading up to the scheduled jury selection.
"My suspicion is Judge Godbey is worried about pre-trial publicity, and he doesn't want the parties, counsel or any other members, commenting publicly on the case," said Roper. "His job is to try to ensure that both sides get a fair trial."
The case is delayed until at least September, but if the judge is concerned about more pre-trial publicity there could be a gag order put in place that would prevent lawyers and family of any of the officers involved, or Tony Timpa from talking.