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‘We deserve better than this.’ People gather to remember Tacoma’s Manuel Ellis
On the Tacoma corner where Manuel Ellis drew his last breath while being restrained by police, hundreds gathered Wednesday evening to demand justice.
It was a vigil the family wanted to hold since the 33-year-old died March 3. They decided it was time after learning the official cause of death — respiratory arrest due to hypoxia due to physical restraint, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
They’d always believed police killed Ellis, and they were ready to let the community raise up its voices.
“The whole world is going to know about Manuel Ellis,” said his sister, Monet Carter-Mixon. “They’re going to know what happened here in Tacoma.”
What happened late on March 3 at the intersection of 96th Street South and Ainsworth Avenue as Ellis returned home from buying a snack is still under investigation.
Police say Ellis was trying to open doors of occupied vehicles and pounded on a patrol car.
He allegedly attacked an officer, and there was a struggle until police managed to handcuff him on the ground.
In an audio recording of the incident, Ellis can be heard saying, “Can’t breathe.”
Although paramedics performed CPR for 40 minutes, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In May, medical examiners ruled his death a homicide and said the physical restraint used caused his death, although methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease contributed.
“He was blessed. He was good. He did not deserve to be murdered at the hands of the police,” said his mother, Marcia Carter.
She spoke with Ellis about an hour before his death.
He made her laugh, as always.
“The last thing that he said to me ... please remember I love you so much,” Carter told the crowd.
Ellis’ sister missed a phone call he made to her around the same time.
In the morning, she sent him a text message that she’d call him later. He didn’t respond.
Instead, Carter-Mixon said, she received a voicemail from a medical examiner telling her Ellis had died the night before.
“Since that day, it’s been nothing but chaos in my life,” she said.
Matthew Ellis said he misses his brother every day and the family desperately wants transparency and accountability from the Tacoma Police Department.
“We just want answers. We want justice. We want my brother’s truth to come to light,” he told The News Tribune before the vigil started.
Some who attended the event brought flowers for the family. Most clutched candles. Many carried signs calling for justice.
Melodies from a man on a keyboard welcomed the crowd, which filtered in about 8 p.m.
There were songs. There were tears. His cousin led the group in a chant, “Manny matters.”
“I’m so happy we were all able to come together like this,” said Jamika Scott of Tacoma Action Collective, which helped organize the event. “It’s powerful. We’re powerful.”
The family read aloud the names of the four officers who restrained Ellis and asked the crowd to call city officials and demand they be fired, criminally charged and convicted.
Although the officers had returned to duty after Ellis’ death, they were again placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday after the autopsy findings became public.
“We deserve better than this,” said community organizer Nikkita Oliver. “The community is saying we deserve to know the truth.”
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