THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — Christopher Burbank, one of the former Tacoma police officers acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis, resigned from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office two days after being sworn in.
Sheriff Derek Sanders wrote in a letter to the community that he met with Burbank and "discussed the impacts of his employment" with the sheriff's office. "At the end of this discussion," Burbank resigned.
"This decision was based on community response and death threats made to Deputy Burbank's family," the letter, dated April 4 but distributed April 3, reads.
The sheriff's office announced Burbank's hiring via Facebook on April 1. At the time, the office said the hire marks the first lateral patrol deputy since 2021 to apply and pass all phases of background checks. It was also the "first time in years" the sheriff's office was expected to be fully staffed with no vacancies on patrol.
"When I made the decision to hire Deputy Burbank, I failed to consider the greater community impact and instead made the decision based on business needs to remedy [Thurston County Sheriff's Office's] staffing crisis," Sanders' letter reads. "Furthermore, I entirely misjudged community perception on the investigation and jury process that Deputy Burbank completed. I recognize the harm this has caused to marginalized communities, and I was wrong."
In a statement from their attorney, Matthew Ericksen, Ellis' family said they were "shocked and saddened" by the news of Burbank's hiring in Thurston County, pointing out there is still a pending wrongful death lawsuit against Burbank, as well as a review from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Additionally, the three officers involved were added to a list of law enforcement officers who have credibility issues.
Burbank was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter after Ellis died while in police custody in March 2020.
The state alleged Burbank and former Tacoma Officer Matthew Collins initiated a confrontation with Ellis on the night he died, assaulted and wrongfully imprisoned him, leading to his death. Eyewitness video shows the officers punching Ellis while he lay on the ground and putting his hands up in the air in a surrender position while an officer fired a Taser at him. Ellis was handcuffed and hogtied while Officer Timothy Rankine applied pressure to his back, pressing him into the ground. The Pierce County medical examiner determined those restraint methods caused Ellis to suffer from a lack of oxygen, resulting in heart failure.
The defense countered that Ellis was the aggressor on the night he died, beat the window of Burbank and Collins' police cruiser and continuously fought back against the officers' attempts to restrain him. They denied the officers' actions were even responsible for Ellis' death in the first place, saying a toxic, potentially fatal level of methamphetamine in his system was the true cause.
The officers were found not guilty of all charges at the conclusion of the trial in December 2023. After the city of Tacoma cleared the officers of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation, each officer received $500,000 and resigned from the department "in good standing." All of the men also remained on paid administrative leave for three years following Ellis' death.
Following calls for a federal investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington confirmed they were independently investigating Ellis' death for federal law violations.