Two officers involved in the 2016 death of Tony Timpa told Dallas Police Department leaders that they mocked the handcuffed 32-year-old while he was pinned to the ground as part of a strategy to prompt a response from him.

The comments, revealed in an audio recording obtained Friday by The Dallas Morning News, are the first statements from the officers to be made public. They made the remarks during a police disciplinary hearing.

The City of Dallas provided the recording as part of an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by Timpa's family. Earlier this year, District Attorney John Creuzot dropped criminal charges against three officers, but their comments and body camera footage of Timpa's death published this week by The News could play pivotal roles in the lawsuit.

1 / 8Vicki Timpa, talks to the media about her son, Tony Timpa, as attorney, Geoff Henley, left, listens in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., in Dallas on Friday, August 2, 2019. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died.(IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 2 / 8Vicki Timpa talks to the media Friday about her son, Tony Timpa, in the office of her attorney, Geoff Henley. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine on August 10, 2016. He died before he was taken to a hospital. (IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 3 / 8Attorney Geoff Henley talks to the media about the Tony Tampa body camera video in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., on Friday, August 2, 2019, in Dallas, Texas. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died. (IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 4 / 8Vicki Timpa, talks to the media about her son, Tony Timpa, as attorney, Geoff Henley, left, listens in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., in Dallas on Friday, August 2, 2019. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died.(IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 5 / 8Attorney Geoff Henley talks to the media about the Tony Tampa body camera video and the timeline in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., in Dallas on Friday, August 2, 2019. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died. (IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 6 / 8Vicki Timpa, talks to the media about her son, Tony Timpa, in her attorney's, Geoff Henley, office, on Friday, August 2, 2019, in Dallas. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died.(IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 7 / 8Vicki Timpa, talks to the media about her son, Tony Timpa, as attorney, Geoff Henley, left, listens in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., in Dallas on Friday, August 2, 2019. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died.(IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer) 8 / 8Attorney Geoff Henley talks to the media about the Tony Tampa body camera video in his office, Henley & Henley, P.C., in Dallas on Friday, August 2, 2019. Tony Timpa was restrained on the ground by Dallas police officers after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he had been off medication and had taken cocaine in this still image taken from a body camera in Dallas, Texas on August 10, 2016. Timpa quit breathing after being restrained and later died. (IRWIN THOMPSON / Staff Photographer)

Vicki Timpa, Tony Timpa's mother, and her attorney held a press conference Friday to discuss the behavior of police on the night he died.

"How can anybody be so cruel?" Vicki Timpa asked.

Overcome with emotion, she said it's too hard to watch her son scream for help on the video -- she doesn't understand why criminal charges were dropped and why the officers returned to active duty.

The strategy

The News could not immediately identify officers on the tape, but two confirmed on the audio that they mocked Timpa. The officers recorded at the disciplinary hearing received written reprimands; records show Senior Cpl. Raymond Dominguez and Officer Danny Vasquez were disciplined for discourtesy and unprofessionalism in relation to the Aug. 10, 2016 death of Timpa.

“It was merely to try and see if we could get some reaction from him. Try to engage him in a different way,” one officer said during the hearing.

“The whole time, I was under the impression that he’s just kind of one of those guys being overdramatic and he’s still trying to push us out into the street.”

The officer went on to say the mocking was an attempt to elicit a response from Timpa.

Most of the taunting came after Timpa became unresponsive, body camera footage shows.

Both officers said they did not intend to belittle Timpa or embarrass the department. They said they regret their actions and in hindsight they would have done things differently.

“Part of it is just, you know, I dealt with this guy, he was a big gentleman. You know, it was kind of like relieving stress,” the second officer said.

“And never, never, never in my mind did (inaudible) I want to make fun of this guy, I want to belittle him. I want to mock him. I didn’t. It never crossed my mind.”

The officer said the banter was an attempt to force Timpa to react "and make him understand hey, we're here trying to help you."

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On the body camera footage, Timpa yells for help more than 30 times. He called 911 seeking assistance, and refers to the men pinning him down as "officer" at least once, according to the footage.

Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and law professor at the University of South Carolina who specializes in use of force issues, told The News officers use different techniques to see if a person is lucid. Sometimes an officer will ask a person what year it is or to name the president.

"I’m not aware of a valid approach that requires the comment to have something shocking or something mocking,” he said.

Stoughton called the comments officers used “an excuse for being inappropriate or unprofessional.”

The head of the disciplinary hearing said he had higher expectations of Dallas police officers.

“It is comforting to know that you guys realize your mistake. In the 21st century and the policing world that we’re in right now, perception is reality,” the hearing officer said, noting the comments were captured on the officers’ own body-worn cameras.

“I personally believe you guys are better than that. But I still need you on the force. So if you learned something from it, most likely we can move forward from here.”

At the end of the roughly eight minutes of audio, the hearing officer says he will need to issue written reprimands to both officers.

“As long as you don’t come back before me with the same type of allegations, I believe you guys will have a fruitful career still ahead of you,” the hearing officer said.

The prone position

Earlier this week, The News released body camera footage of Timpa's death. The footage, obtained as the result of a nearly three-year legal battle with the City of Dallas, shows several officers pinning down a handcuffed Timpa as he pleads for his life.

While Timpa is unresponsive, the officers make fun of him. No one confirmed whether he was breathing or had a pulse. Shortly after he was loaded into a nearby ambulance, paramedics said Timpa was not breathing.

The department’s policy discourages officers from pinning suspects face down, particularly people who are on drugs or suffering from psychosis. The potentially lethal hold, called the prone position, can inhibit breathing, research has shown.

“Subjects will be placed in an upright position (if possible) or on their side as soon as they are brought under control,’’ the policy states.

Stoughton said the prone position is intended to be a “temporary and transitory position” for an officer to secure a person. But Timpa was held in the position at least 14 minutes.

“I can tell you that even five minutes seems excessive to me,” Stoughton said. “This is a position that’s supposed to be serving a purpose and then being changed.”

Calls for change

Timpa's death and other similar fatal encounters with police could be avoided with better training, Dallas civil rights leaders say. The footage in this case has accelerated their efforts to organize a “summit on safety’’ later this month.

The group will demand safer police practices and stiffer consequences from the Dallas County District Attorney office.

"Deadly force and violence at the hands of police must stop,'' said Rev. Peter Johnson, founder of the Institute for Non-Violence. "Our summit will be about this injustice and how the police departments and the DA are refusing to deal with these issues openly.''

Creuzot’s decision not take the case to trial raises questions about the DA’s judgment, said civil rights lawyer David Henderson, a former prosecutor.

Creuzot previously told The News he dismissed the case because three medical examiners told him they would not testify that the officers acted recklessly.

On Friday, Creuzot did not respond to a request for comment.

But Henderson said medical examiner testimony is not essential to proving recklessness, given the autopsy findings. Medical experts could weigh in on the officers’ use of a deadly restraint, and the video evidence would support their testimony, he said.

“The case just shouldn’t ride on an ME’s testimony,’’ Henderson said. “What you need is a jury to see that he was alive when he was pressed to the ground and soon died.’’

Cassandra Jaramillo and Miles Moffeit contributed to this report.

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