Chaplaincy group with ties to police charged in Manuel Ellis’ death loses city contract
A Community Trauma Response Team meant to help Tacoma residents deal with grief hit a roadblock before it was ever activated.
On Tuesday, city officials gave notice of their intent to cancel a $126,804 contract with Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy after several people expressed concern that the group was raising money and accepting cards of encouragement for three officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis.
“Even the appearance of some foul play is enough to make the community trust go down,” Jeffrey Sargent, a member of the Community’s Police Advisory Committee, said during a Monday night meeting. “And so we need to respect that and honor the community because this is not for us. This is for the community.”
The idea for a trauma response team first came in the summer of 2015 on the heels of several homicides. It wasn’t until last year that money was set aside in the city budget and a plan began to take shape.
Volunteers were sought for the team, which would respond to homicides, suicides, traffic collisions, natural disasters or any other event where somebody suffers the loss of a loved one. The team was not intended to replace law enforcement, but rather offer people impacted by such events support and resources.
“It’s emotional first-aid,” said Stephen Hanberg, chair of CPAC, which helped create the team.
Officials stressed the importance of team members being diverse and representing Tacoma demographics in gender, religion, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and education.
There would be 15 to 20 volunteers with rotating weekly schedules, and either police or fire personnel could call them. Volunteers were to be trained in crime scene dynamics and how to work with public safety agencies, according to a contract with Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy.
The city signed the year-long contract with TPCC in December. Out of the $126,804, $32,013 was set aside for volunteer supplies and the other $94,791 was for personnel.
A clause in the contract allows the city to cancel at any time if it gave 10 days notice, which it did Tuesday.
The decision came after CPAC members indicated at their Monday meeting that they’re displeased with Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy.
“My concern is, we are now trying to go up a hill that I don’t know that we can get to the top of with the team that we chose to push up the hill,” CPAC member Dana Coggen said. “I think it’s going to be a hard stop for a lot of folks.”
The advisory committee said it received more than 40 emails from residents concerned about Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy’s connection to the officers charged with killing Ellis.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died March 3, 2020, of oxygen deprivation while being restrained by police.
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office in May charged officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Timothy Rankine was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Shortly after their arraignment in Pierce County Superior Court, all three officers posted bail and were released. The man who put up their bail was Josh Harris, owner of a local construction company. He also happens to be brothers with Ben Harris, executive director of Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy. Ben Harris also posted on social media collecting donations for the officers’ families.
Attempts to reach Harris for comment were unsuccessful.
In a recent email to members of the chaplaincy group, Ben Harris said he was removing the names and photographs of members from the website “out of an abundance of caution.”
“The Manny Ellis case is tragic, and it has polarized and divided many in our community,” he wrote. “I am confident that it will not be allowed to accomplish the same thing in our organization.”
He attended the virtual CPAC meeting Monday and said little about his organization’s support for the officers. Harris focused instead on why the chaplaincy group was chosen to train the Community Trauma Response Team.
“In a moment where (people) were going through some of the darkest times of their life, we’ve shown that we respond to help people from every race, religion, worldview, it does not matter, just like our first responders. We don’t hesitate to go out the door, we don’t qualify those we’re going to serve. We have a 50-year track record of going out and delivering competent and compassionate service to anybody who calls for that service to be delivered,” he said.
TPCC has worked with the city for roughly 50 years, going out to crime scenes and offering emotional support to those experiencing trauma. They will continue that work.
It’s unclear how canceling the contract will affect the city’s plan and timeline in creating a trauma response team, but officials said they are determined to move forward in creating the team.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards told The News Tribune that at the time the contract was awarded, she was excited that the team was beginning to get off the ground, but that the community needs to be able to trust the people responding if the program is going to work.
“The success of the program depends upon the community’s trust to engage,” she said.
Woodards said the city is still committed to creating a trauma response team.
“Hopefully this will give the community some faith in the process, and we will find another partner to deliver this much-needed program for the community,” she said.
Allison Needles contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 4:10 PM.
