Tacoma police acquitted in Ellis case resign, settle for $500K
A woman walks past a mural honoring Manuel “Manny” Ellis, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Ellis died on March 3, 2020, after he was restrained by police officers. Earlier in the day Thursday, the Washington state attorney general filed criminal charges against three police officers in the death of Ellis, who before he died told the Tacoma officers restraining him that he couldn’t breathe. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The three Tacoma Police Department officers acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis will resign with settlements of $500,000 each, the city announced this week. The agreement between each officer and the city also states that the “parties agree that the employee separates in good standing.”
The three former officers, Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine, were cleared of wrongdoing by Police Chief Avery Moore, except for a finding regarding Collins’ violation of the Tacoma Police Department’s policy on courtesy.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died during a police stop in Tacoma in March 2020 after the officers restrained him. Three other officers were present during the stop, but did not face charges. Ellis’ death came a few months before the death of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked nationwide protests about police brutality.
Moore said he reached his decisions regarding the officers’ conduct based on the police department’s use-of-force policy that was in place when Ellis was killed. It has since been changed.
“The Use of Force policy in place in March of 2020 failed to serve the best interests of the police department or the community,” said Moore, who was hired to lead the Tacoma Police Department in February 2022. He said that the department is undergoing a “comprehensive review” of its policies with the assistance of a consulting firm and the city’s Community's Police Advisory Committee (CPAC).
“While acknowledging our incomplete achievement of reform goals in the past decade, the last two years have witnessed substantial efforts to revolutionize the Tacoma Police Department, placing a strong emphasis on fostering inclusivity and pride among all stakeholders,” Moore said in a statement. “These strides are a result of a collective endeavor.”
Last month a Pierce County Superior Court jury acquitted Burbank and Collins of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter charges, and Rankine of first-degree manslaughter. The Seattle Times reported last week that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington has launched a review of the state prosecutors’ case.