Watch: Mayor Woodards spoke late Thursday on Manuel Ellis investigation

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards spoke Thursday night about the investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis.

Watch the speech below via the City of Tacoma.

Since the mayor last spoke on Wednesday, a partial video of the incident has been released, the family has given a statement and a vigil was held Wednesday night at the site of the incident.

Ellis died during an altercation with Tacoma police on March 3. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined Ellis died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia due to physical restraint with contributing factors that included methamphetamine intoxication and dilated cardiomyopathy, commonly known as an enlarged heart.

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.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 9:17 PM.