Manuel Ellis death: Officers cleared of wrongdoing, will not return to Tacoma Police Department
TACOMA, Wash. - Three officers who were acquitted in the death of Manny Ellis last month have been cleared of any wrongdoing and will not return to the Tacoma Police Department.
Tacoma made the announcement on Tuesday, more than three weeks since all three of the officers charged in the case were found not guilty.
The city will pay each of the officers half a million dollars for voluntarily agreeing to resign, according to a voluntary resignation agreement. All three officers have been on paid administrative leave since 2020.
In December 2023, a jury found three police officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Tacoma, Washington man who was beaten, shocked and hogtied face down on a sidewalk, not guilty of all charges.
Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38, were charged with 2nd-degree murder and 1st-degree manslaughter. They were found not guilty of all counts.
Timothy Rankine, 34, was charged with 1st-degree manslaughter. He was also found not guilty.
"Meanwhile, except for a sustained finding regarding Officer Collins’ violation of the Tacoma Police Department’s policy on Courtesy, the Officers were cleared based on 2020 policies," the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement on Jan. 16.
The written reprimand showed that Collins told Ellis to "Shut the f*** up man."
See the written reprimand:
RELATED: Acquittals in Manuel Ellis' death put Washington state's police accountability law in the spotlight
The Tacoma Action Collective, a group that works to eliminate systemic oppression, said in a statement:
"The system that we're supposed to trust in Tacoma is so broken that you can beat, tase, hog-tie, and deprive a Black man of oxygen until he dies and only be reprimanded for not being more respectful about killing him.
"We didn't need to wait nearly 4 years for TPD to investigate themselves, because they did that in 2020 when they allowed all 5 officers to return to work two weeks later."
"They never had any intention of listening to community concerns, not under Ramsdell (who magically resigned), and not under Moore. We read the acknowledgment about the policies, and now things have "changed" since then.
"TPD/The City of Tacoma is so afraid of being sued by 3 cops that they would rather pay them over a million dollars and simply let them resign than to fire them. We have no trust in this department. We didn't in 2020 and we don't in 2024.
"This is why we stood alongside Manuel Ellis' family in asking for a federal investigation. Tacoma and Pierce County failed them, and this community, March 3rd 2020 and continue to do so today."
FOX 13 News has also reached out to the Ellis family and attorney for comment.
IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: Manny Ellis Case and Trial Recap
See the Voluntary Resignation Agreement:
Read the full statement from the Tacoma Police Department:
"Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, and Timothy Rankine have voluntarily agreed to separate from their positions with the Tacoma Police Department.
"Meanwhile, except for a sustained finding regarding Officer Collins’ violation of the Tacoma Police Department’s policy on Courtesy, the Officers were cleared based on 2020 policies. The Use of Force policy in place in March of 2020 failed to serve the best interests of the police department or the community. However, because it was policy at the time, it guided my decisions announced today. That policy has since been superseded by a new policy. Additionally, the Tacoma Police Department is actively undergoing a comprehensive overhaul of its policies with support from Lexipol and the Community's Police Advisory Committee (CPAC). Currently, 30 policies have undergone revision, with 10 nearing completion, aligning with the overarching goal of a complete and thorough policy transformation to better serve the community and enhance law enforcement practices.
"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. These strides are a result of a collective endeavor.
"I acknowledge the detrimental impact of policing on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, extending both a personal and collective apology. My awareness of the historical context of policing includes acts of oppression, abuse, and dehumanization, all carried out under the color of law. Additionally, I recognize the atrocities spanning the last 30 years up to the present. I am committed to acknowledging and taking responsibility, adamantly refusing to condone or turn a blind eye to such heinous acts. "
Read the Final Case Summary below:
Read the full statement from Timothy Rankine's attorneys:
"After thoroughly reviewing all the evidence over three months, a dedicated and diverse jury rendered a not guilty verdict for all three officers. Now, following a comprehensive examination and investigation, the Tacoma Police Department has also cleared the officers of any wrongdoing in their use of force, further affirming that Officer Rankine followed his training and policy during this incident. Stripping away political motivations and narratives reveals that this case embodies two pressing issues afflicting society today: mental health and drug addiction, both of which profoundly impacted Mr. Ellis's life and well-being. The EKG readings from the incident unequivocally establish that the officers did not cause Mr. Ellis's death; instead, it resulted from methamphetamine combined with a dilated and malfunctioning heart. The prosecution chose to withhold this crucial information from its experts and then ignore it at trial.
Since being falsely accused, Officer Rankine, a BIPOC community member, has faced numerous threats to his safety and his family. Consequently, after careful consideration, he has chosen to voluntarily resign from his position with the City of Tacoma and will receive a lump sum payment of half a million dollars ($500,000). To be clear, this is not a settlement of any claims held by Officer Rankine, and he did not take this decision lightly, but the City of Tacoma could not assure his safety in his position, and Officer Rankine worries about potential threats to other officers in the department if he stayed
If we genuinely seek "Justice for Manny," our society must confront the real issues underlying his death—drug addiction and mental health—rather than unfairly placing blame on officers who were not responsible for the tragic outcome. Until that moment comes, we anticipate our police force will continue to lose good officers, like Officer Rankine, and our crime rates will continue to climb to new highs."