“Can’t breathe, sir,” Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, pleaded in an incident caught on video.
Minutes later, he was dead.
Ellis’s death sparked protests over police brutality against people of color, inspiring Tacoma’s mayor to condemn the officers and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) to order an independent investigation.
The charges, announced over a month after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd, mark the first time the Washington AG’s office has criminally charged officers for unlawful use of deadly force. It’s the second time an officer in Washington has faced homicide charges since 2018, when the state removed decodes-old barriers that made it nearly impossible to prosecute police; the first case was brought by King County prosecutors last summer.
“This is the first step in our system of justice,” Inslee said in a statement on the charges. “This year, I signed more than 12 bills creating the most comprehensive police accountability laws in the nation. It is my fervent hope that we can avoid future incidents and deaths.”
About two hours before Ellis laid lifeless on the pavement on March 3, 2020, he was playing drums with his church’s worship band. At 9:30 p.m., he returned home with a friend, video chatted with his mom for just over 20 minutes and then had burgers with his friend, according to prosecutors.
At around 11 p.m., he walked to 7-Eleven, where the man who works the register recognized him as a regular.
“He’s a nice kid,” the clerk told prosecutors, according to a news release. “Really respectful kid. He always say[s] hi.”
Ellis paid for a box of doughnuts and a bottle of water and made his way home. At around 11:20 p.m., witnesses saw Ellis talking casually with police officers in a car stopped at a red light.
“[They] remember seeing a peaceful, apparently respectful conversation, with no signs of aggression from Ellis,” prosecutors said.
But seconds after he walked away, Burbank “abruptly swung open the passenger door of the car, striking Ellis from behind and knocking him to his knees,” the AG’s report says.
Burbank and Collins, both Army veterans, later told supervisors that they observed Ellis trying to get into a random car. They said he then went up to the patrol car and began kicking and punching the vehicle and the windows. They claimed that when they got out of the car, Ellis attacked them and punched them.
Videos from witnesses and nearby home surveillance footage showed Burbank wrap his arms around Ellis, lift him up and slam him down onto the pavement.
Collins then got out of the car and joined Burbank in restraining Ellis, witnesses said. He proceeded to strike Ellis’s head multiple times, causing Ellis to scream after each blow.
An unnamed witness who recorded the encounter can be heard crying out, begging the officers to stop.
“Hey! Stop! Oh my god, stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! Just arrest him,” she said.
Another video, taken by a pizza delivery driver, showed Collins holding Ellis in a chokehold and “then lock[ing] his hands together while squeezing the arm around Ellis’s neck, applying what is called a ‘lateral vascular neck restraint,’” the AG’s report says.
All the while, according to witnesses, Ellis was not resisting or fighting back.
As Burbank drew his Taser, Ellis raised his arms as in surrender, prosecutors said. But Burbank fired anyway.
“As the five-second Taser cycle ends, [the witness’s] video shows Ellis motionless, with Collin’s arms still applying an LVNR hold around Ellis’s neck,” prosecutors said. “Collins then removes his arms from Ellis’s neck, and Ellis’s head falls limply toward the pavement.”
Moments later, Ellis can be see writhing in pain, causing the officers to restrain his arms behind his back and push down on his body, prosecutors said. About 26 seconds later, Burbank fired the Taser again.
“Shut the f--- up, man,” one of the officers said.
About 20 more officers arrived at 11:24 p.m. Among them was Rankine, also an army veteran, who joined Collins and Burbank in restraining Ellis, prosecutors said. With Ellis already handcuffed, Rankine allegedly placed one knee in the middle of Ellis’s spine and the other near the base of his neck.
The officers then tied Ellis’s legs together with a nylon strap and used another to connect it to his handcuffs — putting him in a “hogtie” position, the AG’s report said. The officers also placed a spit hood over his head, though instructions on the spit hood said it should not be used on someone “having difficulty breathing,” according to prosecutors.
Ellis remained in the position for about six to nine minutes, prosecutors said.
When the fire department arrived at 11:34 p.m., a paramedic instructed Rankine to take Ellis out of the restraint so he could put in an IV. But Rankine resisted, prosecutors said, telling the paramedic that he didn’t want to take off the handcuffs “in case he starts fighting again,” according to the AG’s report.
Rankine eventually agreed and within seconds the paramedic was performing CPR and then declaring Ellis dead.
According to the Pierce County medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Clark, Ellis’s cause of death was “hypoxia,” meaning a lack of oxygen, “due to physical restraint.”
“Dr. Clark concluded that the manner in which Ellis was restrained by officers and the application of the spit hood prevented Ellis from breathing properly and caused respiratory arrest and death,” prosecutors said. “He determined Ellis’s death to be a homicide.”
Interim Tacoma Police Department Police Chief Mike Ake said in a statement that the department is still finishing an internal review of the incident.
“Conversations and actions regarding police reform are as important as ever,” Ake said. “We are committed to upholding accountability of individual officers who violate their oath to protect and serve.”
The Tacoma Police Union defended the officers and claimed the charges were “a politically motivated witch hunt.”
“We look forward to trial. An unbiased jury will find that the officers broke no laws and, in fact, acted in accordance with the law, their training, and Tacoma Police Department policies,” the union said in a statement.
It is unclear who is representing the officers. They are expected in court on Friday morning.
At a news conference on Thursday, Ellis’s family expressed their relief about the charges arrest but emphasized that the plan to continue pushing for new policies for police agencies.
“I don’t want to sound selfish because this is a blessing that there are three officers getting charged, but it’s hard for me to be happy; it’s hard for me to want to celebrate because of so many things that are still currently being overlooked,” said Monet Carter-Mixon, Ellis’s sister. “There’s so much work that needs to be done.”
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Manuel Ellis yelled, ‘Can’t breathe,’ before dying in police restraints. Three officers now face charges. - The Washington Post
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