Could pilot program have prevented mental crisis that ended in man's death, Dallas cops' indictment?
By Tasha Tsiaperas
The Dallas Morning Nres
December 9, 2017
When Tony Timpa called 911, panicking and high on cocaine, four Dallas police officers and a sergeant responded.
The response might seem heavy-handed to an outside observer, but the manpower is the standard response to mental health calls in Dallas.
Officers are expected to subdue the person before medical professionals arrive, something that officers say is beyond their training.
"We're not doctors. We're not even paramedics," Dallas Police Association president Michael Mata said. "This is a medical issue."
While in custody that night in August 2016, Timpa's heart stopped after one officer planted a knee in his back for 14 minutes. The 32-year-old executive was handcuffed by a security guard before officers arrived, and they say he resisted their attempts to restrain him.
Two officers and their sergeant were indicted on misdemeanor criminal charges this week in connection with Timpa's death. Now, the department's rank-and-file are concerned they, too, could face charges for doing their jobs.
Dallas police Sgt. Kevin Mansell and Officer Danny Vasquez each face misdemeanor charges of deadly conduct in the August 2016 death of Tony Timpa.
But Dallas' response to such mental health calls may soon change.
On Monday, the City Council's public safety committee is set to hear about a pilot program that would dispatch medical professionals on such calls, rather than rely solely on law enforcement.
There are more than 15,000 mental health calls a year in Dallas, and the call load has increased 12 percent in five years, according to the committee briefing materials. Couple that with a police force that's smaller than it's been in a decade, and something's got to give.
Under the pilot program, three people would be dispatched to each mental health call: a paramedic, an officer and a behavioral health professional.
Dallas Fire-Rescue and the Dallas Police Department would partner on the program, which is based on a system being used in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"You have these highly trained, highly skilled assets, and they're being deployed on things they don't have the skills for," Colorado Springs fire Lt. Julie Stone said about having cops respond to medical issues.
"Let cops be cops. Let medics be medics," she said.
Stone said having a licensed social worker, police officer and a paramedic responding to mental health calls in Colorado Springs has cut the number of people taken to the hospital in half.
And the program has freed up officers to respond to crimes and firefighters to respond to house fires.
Stone said having a licensed social worker, police officer and a paramedic responding to mental health calls in Colorado Springs has cut the number of people taken to the hospital in half.
And the program has freed up officers to respond to crimes and firefighters to respond to house fires.
Dallas has received a grant from the Caruth Foundation and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to run the new program through 2020.
The funding would pay for the city to hire mental health professionals. They would help determine whether a 911 call needs the traditional police response or the crisis response team.
"We ask police all across the country and certainly in Texas to solve all of our societal problems," said B.J. Wagner, senior director on smart justice at the Meadows Institute.
Wagner, who is helping develop the pilot program, said police officers should be focused on public safety and not trying to figure out how to fix someone's mental health crisis.
Having worked as a police officer and a jailer, Wagner said her job at that time was "public safety. It wasn't to find hospital beds."
Under the current system, people experiencing a mental health crisis might be taken to jail or to a hospital. The pilot program would make it possible for the mental health professional to treat someone at the scene.
Mata defended the three officers indicted this week in Timpa's death, saying they were doing "what they are trained to do."
Dallas police Sgt. Kevin Mansell, 48, and Officer Danny Vasquez, 32, were each indicted on one count of misdemeanor deadly conduct by a Dallas County grand jury.
A third officer, Dustin Dillard, faces the same charge, but his court record is not yet public because he hasn't been arraigned.
Defense attorney Robert Rogers said the officers didn't violate the law or any department policy with how they handled Timpa, who they said was struggling and trying to roll into the roadway.
"The officers medically, legally didn't do anything criminal to cause his death," he said. "They restrained a combative suspect the way they've been taught and they way they've done thousands of others."
Mata said he expects the officers to be cleared of the "baseless charges" but is "worried as hell" about the message it sends to other officers about their jobs.
"You're having a law enforcement organization coming to handle a medical issue," Mata said. "What are our tools? Handcuffs."
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think the cop is along to shoot the nutter in case he’s about to kill the paramedic and behavioral health professional.
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