Video shows part of Manuel Ellis’ fatal encounter with Tacoma police
A video posted to Twitter on Thursday captured part of Manuel Ellis’ fatal encounter with Tacoma police three months ago.
Two clips totaling about one minute of footage was collected from a woman who witnessed the March 3 encounter at the intersection of 96th Street South and Ainsworth Avenue.
It opens with Ellis, 33, struggling with two uniformed officers.
He can be seen falling on his back and police moving in to restrain him.
The woman can be heard yelling, “Hey! Stop! Oh my God, stop hitting him. Just arrest him. Just arrest him. Oh my God, that looks so scary.”
In the second clip, she is driving by as two officers are restraining Ellis and repeatedly telling him to put his hands behind his back.
James Bible, the Ellis family’s attorney, said he found the witness and footage Thursday.
He said the witness wasn’t immediately available to speak to The News Tribune but would at a later date.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the incident, said they were previously unaware of the footage until it was posted online by the Tacoma Action Collective.
Detectives are hoping to speak with the witness about what she saw.
Investigators have said Ellis was trying to open doors of occupied vehicles and approached police, even banged on their patrol car.
When an officer got out of the car, detectives say, Ellis attacked him and struggled for several minutes before being handcuffed on the ground.
At one point, Ellis says, “Can’t breathe,” according to police radio traffic.
Officers rolled Ellis onto his side and sat him up after that, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Within a minute of firefighters arriving on scene, Ellis stopped breathing and lost consciousness.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide and determined the cause of death was lack of oxygen due to physical restraint.
Methamphetamine intoxication and a heart disease were contributing factors.
That information became public this week, sparking protests, a peaceful vigil, the family’s demand for an independent review and the Tacoma City Council scheduling a Friday meeting to discuss asking Gov. Inslee for an independent review.
Ellis’ relatives and friends said they do not believe he would have acted out the way police say he did.
Watching the witness’ video elicited “heartbreak and frustration and sadness,” Bible said. “Understanding that far too often incidents happen like this without video and they just get swept under the rug.”
He said the witness reported seeing an officer purposefully hit Ellis with the door of a patrol car, knocking him to the ground.
“They then jumped out and started to beat him,” Bible said.
Also on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Department released a photograph of two vehicles spotted at the scene of Ellis’ death and put out a public plea for any witnesses to come forward.
Detectives said they searched for months but had been unable to find the vehicles or occupants.
Bible said he found the timing to be suspicious.
“The moment that an independent investigation was announced, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department started to actually look for such things,” he said.
Investigators insisted they’d been searching for some time but put out the public plea because they are wrapping up the investigation and plan to forward it to the Prosecutor’s Office by next week.
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 8:56 PM.
