Family of Manuel Ellis reaches settlement with Tacoma in police-custody death
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tacoma will pay $6 million to Manuel Ellis' family in a wrongful-death suit.
- Lawsuit cited excessive force and alleged failure in city oversight of officers.
- Family seeks memorials, reforms, and public policy shaped by victims' stories.
The City of Tacoma agreed Monday to settle for $6 million a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of Manuel Ellis over his oxygen-deprivation death in police custody, according to an attorney for the family.
Ellis’ family sued Tacoma in U.S. District Court in 2021 alleging that six Tacoma Police Department officers were under the “reckless direction and supervision” of the City of Tacoma when Ellis was killed and that the city implicitly and overtly defended officers who use excessive force.
Documents were not yet filed in court Tuesday evening about the settlement, which was first reported by the Seattle Times. City spokesperson Maria Lee on Tuesday confirmed the city had reached a settlement with the Ellis family but said she could not comment on the specifics.
James Bible, who represents Ellis’ family, told The News Tribune that money from the settlement pales in comparison to what they have lost, and they still have to figure out how to move forward.
“They are hopeful that Manny’s name will not be lost in the history of Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest,” Bible said. “They are hopeful that the city, that the county, and that the state will embrace measures that further protect others in the name of individuals who have lost their lives just like Manny.”
Ellis, 33, died the night of March 3, 2020 after an encounter with Tacoma police led to him being beaten, shocked with a Taser three times and pressed to the ground on his stomach with his limbs tied behind his back while officers knelt or sat on him. His last words were, “I can’t breathe.”
Pierce County was initially tasked with investigating Ellis’ death, but former Gov. Jay Inslee later ordered the Washington State Patrol to conduct an independent investigation after it was found that a Sheriff’s Office deputy helped restrain Ellis.
In May 2021, police officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins were charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for Ellis’ death, and officer Timothy Rankine, who arrived on the scene as backup, was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
A jury acquitted the officers of those charges in December 2023. The defense focused heavily on the large amount of methamphetamine in Ellis’ system at the time of his death and questions over how Ellis’ encounter with Burbank and Collins began.
Bible said the Ellis family has been at the center of a “remarkable storm” both locally and nationally, and all they wanted was their loved one back.
“This has been a really difficult journey for a family that’s been dedicated to getting some measure of justice for their lost loved one,” Bible said. “They think about him every day, every night, every holiday. I’ve had countless middle-of-the-night conversations with various family members that have been in tears over a reality that they can’t change.”
Bible said he sees the settlement with Tacoma and the previous $4 million settlement with Pierce County as acknowledgments. He said he anticipates that the written settlement agreement would come with standard language about Tacoma not admitting to any wrongdoing in Ellis’ death, but that the dollar amounts speak for themselves.
Bible said the family is hopeful there will be some form of remembrance or monument in Tacoma as a “constant reminder that officers can do better and should.”
“They are hopeful that the City of Tacoma will actually have trainings in relation to the loss of life at the hands of these officers that involve actually hearing from families that are affected, including theirs,” Bible said.
“Maybe even some form of a street or something like that,” Bible added. “Or even better, a peace center that’s built and led in Manny’s name with the goal of creating peacefulness for all people.”
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 7:26 PM.
