U.S. attorney’s office opens federal investigation into Manuel Ellis’ death

SEATTLE — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington announced Friday that it is launching an investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis, who died in Tacoma police custody in 2020 after repeatedly pleading that he could not breathe.

Last month, three Tacoma police officers were acquitted in Pierce County Superior Court of manslaughter and murder charges stemming from Ellis’ death. It marked just the sixth time in a century that police officers in Washington state were criminally charged for an on-duty death, and was the first test of Initiative 940, passed by voters and then the state Legislature to strengthen police accountability.

The federal investigation will review evidence from the state charges collected by the Washington Attorney General’s Office, which handled the prosecution.

“If that review reveals violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take appropriate action,” said Emily Langlie, spokesperson for acting U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Tessa Gorman.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’ 2020 death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation from physical restraint. At trial, the officers’ lawyers emphasized the high level of methamphetamine in Ellis’ system and his enlarged heart as alternative explanations for his death.

Ellis’ death stoked outrage in the Pacific Northwest during the racial justice protests of 2020. It led to numerous legislative changes such as banning chokeholds statewide, and local policy changes within the Tacoma department, such as prohibiting spit masks like the one Ellis was fitted with before he died.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Spokane filed federal civil rights charges against Spokane officer Karl Thompson for the 2006 beating death of Otto Zehm. Thompson was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 51 months in prison.