By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Family members and friends of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who was killed by Tacoma police officers last March, have come together to sponsor legislation that will ban the use of chokeholds by police officers in the state of Washington.
On the evening of March 3, 2020 in Tacoma Washington, Manuel Ellis was walking home from getting snacks at a local corner store when he was stopped by Tacoma police officers.
During the stop officers believed they felt threaten and that physical force was necessary to restrain Ellis, as they claimed he assaulted them and resisted arrest. In addition to using force, the officers placed what is commonly known as a spit mask over Manuel’s head and as a result of these actions Manuel Ellis died on that street corner.
The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide. The report said he was handcuffed, his feet were hobbled with a belt and a spit mask was placed over his head.
The officers and the Tacoma Police Department originally claimed Manuel Ellis was experiencing “excited delirium”. Nationally, there are several incidents where law enforcement has used “excited delirium” in attempt to justify the death of a person that was in their custody.
“Officers regularly claim that individuals experiencing “excited delirium” have super-human strength and are prone to violence,” says Attorney James Bible, lawyer for the Ellis estate.
According to Bible, “Excited delirium” is not recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) or the American Psychiatric Association, nonetheless the Tacoma PD attempted to portray Manuel Ellis as a dangerous man with super human strength and incredibly violent toward them. Officers claimed that he had body slammed them and that they couldn’t control him.
There is one person that simply did not believe the Tacoma Police Department’s narrative. Monet Mixon, the younger sister of Manuel Ellis and a mother of five, launched her own investigation. She sought out attorneys and the Tacoma Action Collective (TAC) for assistance. Mixon’s investigation was able to locate a faint radio scanner transmission where Manuel could be heard saying that, “he couldn’t breathe.”
In late May, as the George Floyd incident was gaining national and international attention, Monet Mixon was fighting her own battle for justice in Tacoma.
In early June, the Ellis family, the James Bible Law Group, the Alaska Oregon and Washington NAACP and the Tacoma Action Collective demanded an independent investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis. They maintained that the State of Washington needed to take the investigation out of the hands of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly after making this demand Monet along with her attorneys and the Tacoma Action Collective began a search for witnesses. What they found was stunning.
They first located a witness. The witness had been in a car immediately behind the police when Manuel was killed, and filmed the entire incident. In the video, you could hear the witness screaming at the officers to stop. You can also see that the officers appear to be unprovoked as they hit Manuel Ellis with a car door and then proceed to beat and taze him. The witness describes what she saw, “as one of the scariest things I had ever seen.” In the video, you can hear her screaming at the officers to stop hitting him (Manuel).
In addition, another witness came forward. The witness claims that he was delivering pizzas in the area and saw the killing of Manuel Ellis from a different angle. He also began to film what he witnessed. In the 2nd witness’ video, you can see the officers choke and taze Manuel while Manuel’s hands are raised in a surrendering position. In a recorded interview conducted by the family’s attorneys, the witness described what happened to Ellis as “police brutality.” He also indicated that he did not see Manuel Ellis do anything wrong.
More evidence surfaced as Bible was able to get ring video from one of the homeowners that lived across the street from where Manuel Ellis was killed. The recording captured clear audio of what occurred. Ellis could be heard saying, “I can’t breathe sir.” Bible believes that these were Manuel’s final words before dying.
At the time of his death, Ellis was a dedicated member of his church band, who was feeling good about the positive changes he was making in his life. According to Bible, his final words demonstrate that he was trying to be respectful, even when officers were responding to him in a violent and unnecessary way.
The Ellis family has gone through a range of emotions. They have been broken hearted, angry and frustrated with the system. Now they are channeling their emotions into action.
The family is dedicated to changing the law particularly banning chokeholds in Washington State. Ellis was unarmed at the time of the incident and based upon video evidence and independent witnesses, he had committed no crimes.
According to Bible, the family is dedicated to doing whatever they can to prevent another family from experiencing what they have gone through. Months of hard work by dedicated law professors, lawyers, community activists and the Ellis family has culminated in the creation of the Manuel Ellis Washington Anti-Discrimination Act.
According to the Manuel Ellis Washington Anti-Discrimination Act or I-1300, People of color, senior citizens, women, persons with disabilities, veterans, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other historically marginalized communities have experienced government-sponsored discrimination which has created deadly disparities in stark contrast to the general population in public health and safety, public education, public employment, and public contracting.”
In addition to eliminating chokeholds, the Manuel Ellis Washington Anti-Discrimination Act would remedy discrimination and underrepresentation of disadvantaged groups in the public sector and expand prohibitions on discrimination by the state, including law enforcement.
Studies show that people of color are disproportionately affected by violence at the hands of police officers and I-1300 addresses this in detail.
According to the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “African Americans, American Indian/Alaska Natives, and Latino men face a higher lifetime risk of being killed by police than do their white peers. Risk is highest for black men, who face about a one in 1,000 chance of being killed by police. For young men of color, police use of force is among the leading causes of death. Washington’s latest example is the Tacoma police department’s March 3, 2020, killing of 33year-old Manuel Ellis, an unarmed Black male.”
Bible believes that it is of critical importance that society enacts laws that protect people of all races and creeds from police brutality and address the issues of systemic racism and inequality.
“It is of critical importance,” says Bible. “We as a society must create laws that authentically protect people from police brutality as well as the need to address the systematic inequalities.”
In order to put the Manuel Ellis Washington Anti-Discrimination Act in front of the Washington State Legislature, the proponents of the Act must get 300,000 signatures of registered voters in Washington State before December 26, 2020. The Act has gotten widespread support from several political figures and organizations. The sponsors believe that they are well on their way. For additional information about the Manuel Ellis Washington State Anti-Discrimination Act the sponsors urge people to visit their website www.yeson1300.com.
The family wholeheartedly believes the officers involved in the killing of their loved one should be prosecuted for his death. They also believe that steps need to be taken to ban the use of all forms of chokeholds by law enforcement in Washington State. The sponsors of this act designed it to address many forms of systemic discrimination that currently plague our society.
Creating laws to protect people against inequities and the civil rights movement that “Black Lives Matter” must finish its work if change in policing is to manifest.
“If black lives matter, we as a society must work hard to create laws that protect against inequity in all facets of life including excessive force,” said Bible.
