Another man died in police custody

In Tacoma, Washington, Manuel Ellis was hanging out with his landlord for a while before deciding to walk to the store for a late night snack. This was said to have occurred around 11pm on the evening of March 3rd.

On his way back home, Mr. Ellis was approached by two police officers. The officers were not wearing body cameras. They confronted him about a complaint of someone who had been banging on car windows in the area. Their claim was that he was combative, aggressive and he fought them. According to the report, the two officers then called for backup. At this point, two more officers without body cameras arrived. The officers on the scene were Christopher Burbank, Masyih Ford, Timothy Rankine and Mathew Collins.

The May 11th autopsy report from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office stated that Manuel Ellis died from respiratory arrest, hypoxia and physical restraint. His death was ruled a homicide. The Mayor of Tacoma, Victoria Woodards, says the four officers should be fired. Manuel Ellis was a 33 year old father of two.