Manuel Ellis was shocked, beaten and restrained face-down on a Tacoma sidewalk as he pleaded for breath. There was a gasp from the courtroom at the first not-guilty verdict’s reading.
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A jury cleared three Washington state police officers of
As the sun went down Thursday, a crowd that included family members of Ellis gathered near a mural of him in Tacoma, temporarily blocking an intersection. “No justice, no peace,” they chanted. About 100 people attended an evening vigil at the mural.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he was grateful for the jury, the court and his legal team “for their extraordinary hard work and dedication.”
“I know the Ellis family is hurting, and my heart goes out to them,” he said.
The Ellis family immediately left the courtroom and planned to speak at a news conference later. The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability said in a statement that “the not guilty verdict is further proof the system is broken, failing the very people it should be serving.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, credited the attorney general for pursuing the case after the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office botched the initial investigation by failing to disclose that one of its deputies had been involved in restraining Ellis. That controversy helped prompt lawmakers to create a new independent office to investigate police use of force.
“This case began when the Ellis family experienced a profound loss that was not properly investigated,” Inslee said in a statement. “A full airing of the evidence was important for all sides in this tragedy and that’s what happened here.”
The City of Tacoma said in a statement that the verdicts will not affect an internal police department investigation and once its findings are approved by Chief Avery Moore, he’ll make any decisions about possible discipline, “up to and including termination.” That is expected to happen within the next two weeks.
“I share the depth of emotion that many of you are experiencing right now,” Mayor Victoria Woodards told a news conference. “I personally commit, along with every member of your City Council and with our city manager and our police chief, to a just, transparent and safer Tacoma for all of our residents.”
The Ellis family settled a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Pierce County, which is home to Tacoma, for $4 million last year.
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