Tacoma Officers Cleared in Black Man's Death Will Get $500000 Each to Resign - The New York Times

The three police officers were found not guilty last month in the death of Manuel Ellis, who died in custody in 2020 after pleading that he could not breathe.

Three Tacoma police officers who were acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died in police custody in 2020 after pleading that he could not breathe, will each receive $500,000 for resigning from the Tacoma Police Department, according to documents released by the city on Tuesday.

Two of the officers, Christopher Burbank, 38 and Matthew Collins, 40, both white, were acquitted last month on charges of second-degree murder. The third officer, Timothy Rankine, 35, who is Asian, was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors had accused the men of punching, squeezing and placing a hood over Mr. Ellis, 33, known as Manny, who was unarmed on the night of his arrest and, according to audio recordings, told the police that he could not breathe.

On Tuesday, Chief Avery L. Moore of the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement that the three officers had “voluntarily agreed” to resign from their positions. Though Mr. Collins violated the department’s 2020 policy on courtesy, all three men had otherwise been cleared of departmental violations based on policies at the time, Chief Moore said.

A spokeswoman for the city said Tuesday that the men had already resigned.

The “Use of Force” policy in place at the time of Mr. Ellis’s arrest “failed to serve the best interests of the police department or the community,” Chief Moore added, and has since been revised as part of an overhaul of more than two dozen police policies. “I acknowledge the detrimental impact of policing on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, extending both a personal and collective apology,” he said.

The officers resigned in “good standing,” according to copies of the officers’ resignation agreements that were posted online, which note that in addition to the $500,000 payments, the three will receive any other standard payouts and benefits as required by law. “These agreements support a responsible, constructive path forward for our community and the Tacoma Police Department,” Elizabeth Pauli, the city manager, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Matthew Ericksen, a lawyer for Mr. Ellis's family, said in a statement that the agreements with the three men were “perverse.” The former officers have already been paid about $1.5 million in total while being on leave for nearly four years, he said. “Everyone in the community should be upset by this.”

Anne Bremner, a lawyer for Mr. Rankine, said in a statement on Tuesday that her client had decided to resign “after careful consideration,” and she stressed that the payout from the city should not be considered a settlement. “The city of Tacoma could not assure his safety in his position,” she added, “and Officer Rankine worries about potential threats to other officers in the department if he stayed.”

A lawyer for Mr. Burbank, Brett Purtzer, declined to comment on the agreement. Lawyers for Mr. Collins could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday evening.

Mr. Ellis’s family previously described him as the father of an 11-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter. A musician at his church, he had played drums with the worship band earlier on March 3, 2020, the night he was killed, according to prosecutors.

Later, Mr. Ellis was walking home after getting a late-night snack at a 7-Eleven when he came upon Mr. Burbank and Mr. Collins sitting in their police car, prosecutors said. Mr. Ellis stopped and spoke briefly to the officers in an encounter that witnesses described as peaceful and respectful, prosecutors said. Mr. Ellis then began to walk away, they said.

According to witnesses, Mr. Burbank swung open the passenger door, hitting Mr. Ellis from behind and knocking him to his knees. The two officers then got out of the vehicle, slammed Mr. Ellis down, and repeatedly struck him in the face, prosecutors said. Mr. Collins then placed Mr. Ellis in a chokehold, and Mr. Burbank pointed a Taser at his chest, prosecutors said. Though Mr. Ellis put up his hands in attempt to surrender, the officers “continued to escalate the incident,” prosecutors said. Mr. Burbank then fired the Taser at Mr. Ellis three times, they said.

Mr. Rankine, who was among a group of officers who responded as backup, joined the other two officers in restraining Mr. Ellis, who, according to prosecutors, was pinned to the ground, not resisting, and by this stage, was struggling to breathe. On a nearby doorbell camera, Mr. Ellis is heard saying: “Can’t breathe, sir. Can’t breathe!” As the officers continued to pin Mr. Ellis to the ground, they hogtied him and placed a hood over his head, prosecutors said. He remained in that position for six to nine minutes until the Fire Department arrived, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Mr. Ellis’s death a homicide, caused by oxygen starvation because of to physical restraint, with methamphetamine intoxication and a heart condition as contributing factors. Defense lawyers argued that the latter two factors had caused Mr. Ellis’s death.

The Ellis family last year settled a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against Pierce County, which is home to Tacoma, for $4 million, according Mr. Ericksen. A wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Tacoma and the officers is still pending, he added.

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