Live updates: Hundreds of protesters have ‘die in’ in street; Ellis death ruled homicide
UPDATE: 8:26 p.m.
Protesters with the Stand With Me/Stand Up Protest to Protect Tacoma March started their journey at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South 25th Street on Wednesday, eventually taking part in an eight minute and 46 second “die-in” at the intersection of Sprague and Division avenues. Hundreds laid down on the street for the amount of time it took George Floyd to lose his life in Minneapolis while a police officer knelt on his neck.
More here from reporter Craig Sailor.
UPDATE: 4:44 p.m.
Officers who restrained Ellis placed on leave
Four Tacoma officers were put on administrative leave Wednesday morning.
The officers, who were involved in restraining 33-year-old Manuel Ellis the night he died, had been put on paid administrative leave after the March 3 incident but had since returned to duty.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon that an independent investigation is currently underway by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
More here from reporter Allison Needles.
UPDATE: 3:10 p.m.
Mayor addresses city on Ellis investigation
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards will speak at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Watch the speech here via the City of Tacoma.
UPDATE: 3:07 p.m.
Governor promises full investigation into Ellis death
Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday that he and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards will push to make sure there is a “full and complete investigation into the death” of Manuel Ellis.
Ellis died on March 3 in handcuffs while being restrained on the ground by Tacoma police. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that Ellis died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia due to physical restraint.
“I know finding out the full circumstances of that event is a top priority for her and a top priority for me,” he said. “We know that we have to continue to push for de-escalation interactions between law enforcement and our community members.”
More here from reporter James Drew.
UPDATE: 10:30 a.m.
Manuel Ellis’ death during police encounter determined homicide
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined Manuel Ellis died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia due to physical restraint during a confrontation with police in March.
The Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide, which legally means he was killed by another person. Fatal police shootings, for instance, are generally determined to be homicides. It is up to prosecutors to decide if police acted lawfully and if the homicide was justifiable or a criminal act was committed.
Hypoxia is a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues. Contributing factors in Ellis’ death included methamphetamine intoxication and dilated cardiomyopathy, commonly known as an enlarged heart, according to the Medical Examiner.
Ellis was one of several local men whose deaths were highlighted at a Tuesday night rally.
More here from reporter Stacia Glenn.
UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.
Tuesday night rally highlights local men who died in police incidents
Hundreds of people gathered at Wapato Lake Park Tuesday evening to remember young black men who died during recent encounters with Tacoma and Lakewood police.
At Tuesday’s event, Katrina Johnson, the cousin of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother shot by Seattle police in 2017, spoke to the many young people in the crowd.
The nation has been wracked with unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25.
Family members of several of the men spoke during the bookend rallies. One was Fred Thomas, whose son, Leonard, was killed by police in a 2013 while clutching his 4-year-old son during a SWAT standoff. People also remembered Said Joquin, 26, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Lakewood after allegedly running a stop sign; Bennie Branch, 24, who was killed Sept. 8 after being pulled over by a Tacoma officer on Portland Avenue; and Manuel Ellis, 33, who stopped breathing after an altercation with police in March.
More here from reporters Craig Sailor and Stacia Glenn.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Live updates: Hundreds of protesters have ‘die in’ in street; Ellis death ruled homicide."
