Attorney, family call out Tacoma police, others in death of Manuel Ellis
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The police death of Manuel Ellis
More than a year after Manuel Ellis died in police custody, the attorney general charged three officers in his death.
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The family of Manuel Ellis repeated one message following Thursday’s charging decision announced by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office in the death of Manuel Ellis.
His life mattered.
Members of Ellis’ family, along with the family’s attorney, James Bible and members of the Tacoma Action Collective, said much work is left to be done and excoriated those involved in the investigation along with the officers charged. They warned no one ultimately is safe without true independent investigations and independent prosecutions.
Bible said that there was a “lack of accountability that goes to the top” and noted, “There is an institutional problem at the Tacoma Police Department that needs to be addressed.”
Ellis’ sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, said, “This is a blessing with the three officers being charged. It’s hard for me to be happy and want to celebrate because of so many things being overlooked.”
Both Bible and Ellis’ mother, Marcia Carter, credited Carter-Mixon for her work in seeking justice for her brother and holding the arresting officers accountable.
“God says many are called, but few are chosen,” Carter said. “God chose him … because he wanted to expose the corruption that is in our City Council, this whole state.”
She added: “The criminal system needs to be made over.”
A common refrain during the event was lack of political will from local elected leaders, with anger not only expressed at the City Council, but the mayor and the city manager, and how the family had to confront the governor to highlight what they saw as an ongoing mishandling of the investigation by city and county law enforcement.
Ellis’ brother, Matthew, along with others speaking at the news conference, noted the battle was far from over.
“Our brother’s name will live forever,” he said.
Bible recounted all the holidays missed since Ellis’ passing.
“Every dinner table that his mom has sat at over the course of the past 14 months …. Someone has been missing. At the birthdays for Manuel Ellis’ children ...,” he said. “There are no winners at this moment, only questions of how we move forward … where we go from here.”
“At this moment we have to talk about those in this system who enable officers to commit murder,” he noted, adding that the issue was “ just as important as the criminal charges.”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson earlier Thursday announced three officers would be charged. Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins were charged in Pierce County Superior Court with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Timothy Rankine was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
No charges were filed against the other two officers involved in restraining Ellis, Masyih Ford and Armando Farinas.
Throughout the investigations, Ellis’ family has called for the five Tacoma officers involved to be fired and charged.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died from lack of oxygen March 3, 2020, while being restrained by police. His death was ruled a homicide, with methamphetamine and heart disease listed as contributing factors.
Video later showed Ellis telling officers, “I can’t breathe, sir, I can’t breathe,” before losing consciousness. His death prompted protests in Tacoma against police brutality and racial inequality.
Ferguson’s office inherited the State Patrol’s 2,169-page investigation on Nov. 12. The State Patrol’s involvement was the result of the discovery that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department had violated a new law requiring independent investigations into police-caused deaths by not immediately disclosing their involvement.
Bible said that the narrative about the case promoted by law enforcement officials at the time only changed as the result of witnesses, and that the early narrative was a false narrative.
He also pushed back at the Tacoma police union’s statement saying the charging decision signified a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
“This is not a witch hunt. This was a 14 month investigation,” he said.
Asked what could be done to support the family, Bible responded:
“We need to embrace them as a community. We need to show up at the court hearings for the defendants to make sure the prosecution understands this is an important community issue and should be done well.”
The News Tribune’s Stacia Glenn contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 12:39 PM.
