SEATTLE — The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington is launching an independent review of the state's case charging three Tacoma police officers with the death of Manuel Ellis.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died in Tacoma police custody in March of 2020 after a confrontation with officers. A jury found all three officers not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in late December.
After the jury's decision, there were calls, including from the Ellis family's attorney, James Bible, for a federal investigation into the officers' actions on the night Ellis died, which has been done before in cases of police brutality, like in the murder of George Floyd.
A spokesperson confirmed Friday that the office is "conducting an independent review of the state's case concerning Manuel Ellis' death. If that review reveals violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take appropriate action."
In a Pierce County superior court, the Washington State Attorney General's Office alleged that Collins and Burbank beat Ellis, restrained him without cause and ignored his cries of "I can't breathe," leading to his death. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled that Ellis died due to the restraint methods used against him by police. Ellis was handcuffed, hogtied and pressed into the ground by officers, including Rankine, who admitted that he heard Ellis say he couldn't breathe but did not take that to mean he was experiencing a medical emergency.
Defense for the three officers argued that it was a large dose of methamphetamine in his system that truly killed Ellis and that he would have died that night regardless of the officers' actions.
On Friday evening, Manuel Ellis' family and their attorney, James Bible, along with community advocates for people who have died while in police custody, called for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Ellis' death. Their call also demanded an investigation into systemic issues in the city of Tacoma, the Tacoma Police Department, and Pierce County.
Bible demanded the DOJ to impose a federal consent decree and “protect people of color within Tacoma and Pierce County.”
“Ultimately, when the state fails to be in a place where it can operate justly in its courtrooms, the federal court has to step up, and it has to step in,” he said.
KING 5 has reached out to the Tacoma police officers union and the city of Tacoma for comment.
Bible said they will take every step necessary to ensure the officers are held accountable for their actions in the death of Manuel Ellis. Demands for a federal investigation also noted possible collusion between officials tasked with investigating the killing and allegations of a cover-up.
Ellis’ sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, spoke at the news conference and said people of color deserve to be able to walk down the street at night without the risk of being harassed or beaten by law enforcement. She said the verdict wasn't fair and that while she had gotten her hopes up, "nothing is ever what it seems" in Tacoma and Pierce County.
“Time and time again these police departments have shown us that they’ll collude together, they’ll cover up evidence, they won’t investigate, they will not do their jobs, they’ve proven that they will obstruct the law by any means necessary, they’ve proven that they will … flat out lie, abuse the law and abuse their power," said Carter-Mixon. "These are all things that need to be stopped.”
Ellis' family was joined by Jaleesa Trapp, of the Tacoma Action Collective; Lisa Earl-Rideout, the mother of Puyallup tribal member Jackie Salyers who was killed by a Tacoma police officer in 2016; and Puyallup Tribal Council member James Rideout.
Earlier this week, Tacoma officials missed their own deadline for providing results and disciplinary decisions for the involved officers. The results are now set to be released Tuesday, Jan. 16.
“[If] the city of Tacoma fails to fire these officers, it only serves as notice that they truly do not think Black lives matter and that goes for all of them,” Bible said, adding that he is referencing the Tacoma mayor in his statement.