'I hope I didn't kill him': Police shown laughing and joking as restrained man dies next to them in disturbing bodycam video

Man begs for help as police unknowingly cause him to stop breathing and die in disturbing body camera footage

Body camera footage released after a years-long legal battle shows police officers laughing and joking as a man they pinned to the ground becomes unresponsive and dies.

The newly released video shows police holding Tony Timpa on the floor as he begs for help, screaming, “You’re gonna kill me! you’re gonna kill me!”

The Texas officers did not check for a pulse and later joked they would be forced to wake up Mr Timpa, who was reportedly off of his mental health medicine and had taken drugs at the time of the encounter. He was held down for nearly 14 minutes, his limbs zip-tied together as officers kneeled on his back with his face on the ground.

Mr Timpa’s family has since sued the Dallas Police Department, alleging excessive force on the part of the officers involved in his death. The disturbing body camera footage was released after a federal judge ruled on Monday that “the public has a compelling interest in understanding what truly took place during a fatal exchange between a citizen and law enforcement.”

The body camera footage was then obtained by The Dallas Morning News, which was involved in the court battle over the release of the 2016 footage.

Mr Timpa told police dispatchers he had not been taking his prescription medication for schizophrenia and depression when he called the department from a parking lot on 10 August, 2016.

Police said in their incident reports that Mr Timpa appeared aggressive and combative when they first encountered him.

The department also said he did not resist arrest, according to a custodial death report submitted later that year to the state of Texas.

The officers involved in the encounter said they were pinning Mr Timpa to the ground so he would not roll over into the nearby street, though the body camera footage shows a police car was parked on the road to seemingly block any oncoming traffic.

The officers joke with each other throughout the ordeal, at one point laughing over Mr Timpa appearing to be asleep.

“I don’t want to go to school!” one officer quips, appearing to mock a teenager. “Five more minutes, mom!”

“It’s time for school – wake up!” they shout at Mr Timpa, occasionally pushing his limp body around.

Mr Timpa was provided a sedative despite officers already questioning whether he was conscious. An official autopsy said Mr Timpa died due to “the toxic effects of cocaine and the stress associated with physical restraint,” The Dallas Morning News reported.

His death has been the subject of national media attention – including a 2017 investigation by the New York Times – and multiple legal battles.

Kevin Mansell, Danny Vasquez and Dustin Dillard, the three responding officers involved in the death, were all indicted on misdemeanour charges of deadly conduct in 2017.

The charges were later dropped and all three instead received written statements reprimanding them for “conduct discrediting the department. They have since returned to work this year.