TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered an independent investigation into the death of a black man as he was being arrested by Tacoma police after new information emerged that a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy was at the scene when he was detained and died on March 3.
Inlsee said Wednesday that officials are working to determine who will conduct the investigation and who will make charging decisions in the death of Manuel Ellis, a decision he said could come “in hours or days.” The county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, concluding that Ellis died from a lack of oxygen due to physical restraint. The medical examiner’s report also listed methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease as factors in his death.
Residents have been protesting the death of Ellis as well as George Floyd, another black man who died after being restrained by police. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis has sparked nationwide protests and charges against the white officer who pinned him to the ground.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Inslee said that the initial intention was to have the Washington State Patrol as the independent agency, but that it was recently learned a trooper was on the scene, and they’ve had to take a pause as officials gather more information about the trooper’s involvement.
“We want to confirm that because we want to assure that whatever investigatory agency we have is truly independent,” he said. “We’re checking on that. If that’s not an impediment we’ll move forward with the State Patrol. If it is we’ll find some other solution to this.”
“Both the eventual investigation and any prosecutorial decisions will be completely independent from any conflict of interest,” Inslee said. “We are committed to that.”
Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said that the review is ongoing, but said one trooper was briefly on the scene, leaving shortly after arrival.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department had been close to finishing an investigation, and a briefing with the prosecuting attorney was scheduled for Wednesday. It was canceled.
In a written statement, Attorney General Bob Ferguson wrote that he didn’t learn until late Tuesday that any deputies were at the scene.
“It is disturbing that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is only now, after more than three months, revealing its involvement,” he wrote. “To be blunt, the result is a totally unnecessary delay in the investigation of this case.”
Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, said that the deputy’s presence came to light during a recent case briefing.
“While the involvement of the Deputy was minimal and was noted by our own documentation, we agree that the right thing to do is to hand off the investigation as the Prosecutor has recommended,” Troyer said via email. “We will make all of our evidence and personnel available to the investigative agency.”
However, the governor’s office said Wednesday afternoon they were told two deputies had been at the scene. It remains unclear.
Ellis, 33, died while being arrested and restrained by Tacoma police. In a video shot by someone nearby that was released last week, Ellis is shown falling on his back and struggling with officers on top of him. “Oh, my God, stop hitting him, just arrest him,” the woman shooting the video shouts.
The police department had identified the four officers involved in restraining Ellis as Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, Masyih Ford, and Timothy Rankine. Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Ellis’ family have called on those officers to be fired and arrested. The officers were put on administrative leave last week after the autopsy results were made public.
The names of the deputy and trooper at the scene have not been released.
In a separate statement Wednesday, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said she would “step back from the case.”
Woodards said Wednesday she agrees the new information mandates that an independent agency conduct a new investigation.
“A full and independent investigation into this homicide still remains our paramount goal, and I am deeply troubled that the Ellis family will now endure additional delays while we all await a thorough accounting of the facts,” she said in a statement.
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