Tacoma puts 5th officer that report says restrained Manuel Ellis on administrative leave
The Tacoma Police Department has put a fifth officer reportedly involved in restraining Manuel Ellis before his death on administrative leave.
“Based on the independent nature of the investigation, the City of Tacoma was only recently notified of the officer’s reported actions on the scene,” the Police Department said in a news release Friday. “As of December 31, 2020, the Tacoma Police Department placed Officer Armando Farinas on paid administrative leave pending the final investigative report and charging decision by the Attorney General’s Office.”
Farinas put a mesh spit mask over Ellis’ head as he was handcuffed and hobbled after a minutes-long struggle with officers March 3 at 96th Street South and Ainsworth Avenue South, according to a Washington State Patrol Investigation released Wednesday.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died from lack of oxygen. His death was ruled a homicide, and methamphetamine and heart disease were listed as contributing factors.
Former Pierce County Medical Examiner Thomas Clark wrote in the autopsy report that “physical restraint, positioning and the placement of a mask over the mouth is a significant factor, and possibly the most important factor” in Ellis’ death.
Farinas is 26 and has been with the department three years.
“While redacted copies of the investigation have been made available to parties and the media through the Public Disclosure Act, the City is awaiting the finalization of the investigation and charging decisions by the Attorney General’s Office prior to receiving and reviewing final reports,” the Police Department’s release said. “It is the Department’s position that awaiting this complete record helps to maintain the full independence of the investigative process and the spirit of I940 by avoiding the appearance of undue influence on a process that is not yet final.”
The press release goes on to say that: “The Tacoma Police Department stands ready to take prompt and appropriate steps upon receipt of the final investigative report and charging decision.”
Officers Christopher Burbank, 34; Matthew Collins , 37; Masyih Ford, 28; and Timothy Rankine, 31, were put on administrative leave after Ellis’ death, per procedure, and returned two weeks later.
They were put on leave again in June after Clark’s report was released.
Farinas and sheriff’s Det. Sgt. Gary Sanders, who held Ellis’ leg as he was hobbled, were not put on leave.
“We are deeply disappointed that a fifth person was intimately involved in the murder of Manuel Ellis,” James Bible, the family’s attorney, told The News Tribune Wednesday.
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 11:27 AM.
