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- 3 Tacoma police officers have been charged in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis.
- 2 face murder charges, while a third is facing manslaughter, Washington's attorney general announced.
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Three Tacoma police officers were charged in connection with the killing of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died in March 2020 after being detained and shocked by cops.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank were charged with second-degree murder and officer Timothy Rankine was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The felony charges followed an independent investigation. Before Thursday's announcement, only three other officers in state history had ever faced criminal charges for unlawful use of force, according to the Seattle Times.
Ellis's death sparked nationwide attention and widespread protests last year after the Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide, with oxygen deprivation due to physical restraint as the primary cause. Methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease were also listed as contributing factors.
Four officers were put on leave in the aftermath of Ellis's death during a Pierce County Sheriff's Department investigation. Near the end of the initial investigation, eyewitnesses came forward with video footage of parts of the incident which contradicted officers' claims that Ellis had been aggressive toward them.
Video footage from that night shows officers hitting Ellis repeatedly while on the ground.
Witnesses said Collins and Burbank were the first two officers to arrive and initiated the aggression, before Rankine and another officer, Masyih Ford, arrived and restrained Ellis. The investigation later revealed that a Pierce County Sheriff's deputy was also at the scene, prompting the county prosecutor to note a conflict of interest.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee handed the investigation over to the Washington State Patrol in June and put Ferguson's office in charge of making a final charging decision.
In December, investigators announced that a fifth Tacoma police officer put a nylon spit guard over Ellis's head after he was already restrained with handcuffs. A medical examiner said the mask was a contributing factor in Ellis's death and that officer was subsequently placed on leave, according to The Seattle Times.
In the aftermath of Ellis's death, the Tacoma Police Department banned chokeholds and the Washington legislature implemented a statewide ban on the method.
Ellis's family announced in August that they would sue the city of Tacoma for $30 million in his death.