Live updates: Mayor Woodards seeks firings in Ellis death; unions, city manager respond
UPDATED: 2:13 p.m.
Tacoma City Manager Elizabeth Pauli said Friday she would “act quickly” in reviewing information in the Manuel Ellis case after Mayor Victoria Woodards called on her late Thursday to fire the officers involved.
“I will act quickly in reviewing any and all information provided and in making decisions necessary to hold individuals accountable for their actions,” Pauli said in a statement.
Pauli stopped short in her statement of saying she would fire Christopher Burbank, 34; Matthew Collins, 37; Masyih Ford, 28; and Timothy Rankine, 31. Burbank and Collins are white. Ford is black. Rankine is Asian.
“I am proud of the passion our Mayor has for our community and for the depth of empathy and support she has always shown for the oppressed and persecuted in our community, especially our Black brothers and sisters,” Pauli said in her statement Friday.
More here from reporter Allison Needles.
UPDATED: 1:15 p.m.
Police unions critical of call for firings
Tacoma Police Union representatives released a statement accusing Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards of “theatrics” and claiming an investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis in March will show the officers “did no wrong.”
“This is not a time to sacrifice dedicated public servants at the altar of public sentiment, especially when that sentiment is almost wholly fueled by the uninformed anger of a theatrical politician,” they wrote.
A second union, Tacoma Police Management Association, which represents lieutenants and captains, followed up Friday with their own statement:
“Mayor Woodards’ inflammatory language calling the Officers criminals and calling for their prosecution before the incident is reviewed by the Prosecutor’s Office does not suit the office of the Mayor,” representatives said in the statement. “We expect more from our Mayor than an angry theatrical reaction to a short partial video of our Officers attempting to take Mr. Ellis into custody.”
Representatives of both unions said they were appalled by the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes, but said the Ellis and Floyd cases are not the same.
More here from reporter Stacia Glenn.
Mayor Woodards directs city manager to fire officers in Ellis case
UPDATED: 10:40 p.m. Thursday
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards on Thursday night directed City Manager Elizabeth Pauli to fire four police officers involved in a fatal encounter with Manuel Ellis, a black man who died in March after being restrained while being arrested.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Ellis’ March 3 death a homicide and determined the cause of death was lack of oxygen due to physical restraint. The News Tribune learned the information and reported on it earlier this week. Methamphetamine intoxication and a heart disease were contributing factors.
The officers involved originally were placed on paid administrative leave after the incident on March 3 and had since returned to duty. They were again put on leave Wednesday morning.
More here from reporter Allison Needles.
Watch the mayor’s Thursday speech.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
