State Patrol and Attorney General will review investigation into Manuel Ellis’ death

The Washington State Patrol will review the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis and the Attorney General will examine any charging decisions by the Pierce County prosecutor’s office, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday evening.

Inslee said he committed to Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards that the state will conduct an independent review.

“I’ve been told the Pierce County Sheriff is close to completing the investigation his agency is doing on behalf of the city. That report will be forwarded to the county prosecutor, who makes the decision whether to charge the officers involved,” Inslee said.

“We have no reason to doubt the work under way, and my decision does not in any way pre-judge an outcome, but the family of Mr. Ellis, the City of Tacoma and every Washington resident deserves the confidence that an extra level of scrutiny will bring.”

Inslee said the State Patrol will review the sheriff’s investigation to ensure that a full and fair investigation has been conducted. After the prosecutor’s work is complete, Inslee formally will grant the attorney general’s office the authority to review that work and determine whether any different charging decisions need to be made by Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Ellis, a black man, died in handcuffs while being restrained on the ground by Tacoma police. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Ellis’ March 3 death a homicide and determined the cause of death was lack of oxygen due to physical restraint.

“We know that Manuel Ellis was one of far, far too many black men who died while in police custody in America, including here in Washington state,” Inslee said in a written statement. “Washingtonians deserve every assurance that investigations and charging decisions related to police shootings and deaths of people in police custody are handled with urgency, independence and commitment to justice. “

Inslee said he and his staff have met in recent days with activists, protest leaders, families of victims of police killings, law enforcement officials and experts to begin the work of creating a permanent process to give independent review to such cases.

“I will continue this work and these conversations so the community and I can stand together and present state lawmakers with a package of legislation by no later than January. Our work should include laws for independent investigations, requiring police to intervene and report if they witness unlawful use of force by a fellow officer, and examining the use of force —including restraint techniques.

“We all want those cases to end. But until then, when these stories become part of the bitter history of racism in this country, we must make sure that each and every case is given the highest level of scrutiny,” the governor said.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 6:21 PM with the headline "State Patrol and Attorney General will review investigation into Manuel Ellis’ death."