The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Tacoma police officers violated federal law when they beat, Tasered and hogtied Manny Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, before his death in March 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman’s office said in an email that it is “conducting an independent review of the state’s case concerning Manuel Ellis’ death. If that review reveals violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take appropriate action.”
The FBI declined to comment about any involvement in the investigation.
The announcement comes ahead of Police Chief Avery Moore’s decision next week about whether to discipline Officers Matthew Collins, Christopher “Shane” Burbank and Timothy Rankine, who were acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges last month. City spokesperson Maria Lee said in an email Friday afternoon that Moore's plans to address the public on Tuesday haven't changed.
After the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement, Ellis' family demanded that the Justice Department seek a consent decree, or court-ordered settlement for reform, with the Tacoma Police Department during a news conference with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Alaska Oregon Washington State Area Conference of the NAACP.
"Time and time again, these police departments have shown us that they'll collude together, they'll cover up evidence they won't investigate," Ellis' sister Monet Carter-Mixon told reporters. "They will not do their jobs."
The family's attorney, James Bible, said Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chuschoff made inappropriate comments during the trial and allowed in evidence that improperly swayed the jury. Federal courts have different rules for evidence and federal prosecutors may be able to build a broader case examining the conduct of more officers, Bible said.
"Black people and people of color in the city of Tacoma are in danger when they're walking down the street alone, that they can be beaten tased hogtied left for dead and killed by law enforcement," Bible said. "And we will take every step legally necessary to assure that the officers involved in the murder of Manuel Ellis are held accountable for their actions."
Brett Purtzer, an attorney for Burbank, told KNKX that the officers were aware of the federal investigation. He said he's confident the review will clear the officers of wrongdoing. An attorney for Rankine said she agreed with Purtzer. Attorneys for Collins did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Collins and Burbank, who are both white, called Ellis over to their patrol car while stopped at a red light and said Ellis suddenly attacked them, according to trial testimony. Three eyewitnesses testified at trial that the officers were the aggressors. Rankine, who is Asian American, arrived as backup and pressed on Ellis’ back for several minutes despite him saying he couldn’t breathe.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office determined Ellis died from a lack of oxygen due to the restraint by officers. The officers' attorneys argued in court that Ellis died of a methamphetamine overdose exacerbated by his enlarged heart.
The department’s internal investigations of Collins, Burbank and Rankine had been on hold pending the outcome of their trial. Former Interim Police Chief Mike Ake previously “exonerated” two other officers, Armando Farinas and Masyih Ford, in December 2021. Ford was Rankine's partner and also helped restrain Ellis. Farinas arrived minutes later and placed a spit hood over Ellis' head, which medical experts testified may have impaired his breathing.
A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Ellis' family against the city of Tacoma and the officers is pending. The family previously reached a $4 million settlement with Pierce County, which investigated Ellis' death until disclosing that one of its sheriff's deputies had helped hogtie Ellis.
