Tacoma Mayor Says Officers ‘Should Be Fired And Prosecuted’ After Manuel Ellis Dies During Arrest
Another black man has died at the hands of police during an arrest. His name: Manuel Ellis. Subsequently, Tacoma, Seattle Mayor Victoria Woodards is speaking up, and says the four officers involved “should be fired and prosecuted. to the fullest extent.” This call for action follows a recently-emerged video showing the March 3 arrest and murder of Manuel Ellis, who died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia because of physical restraint.
The incident began when officers say they saw Ellis punching on the window of a vehicle. They asked if he needed help, and reportedly he told them he had warrants. As officers stepped out of their car to talk, Ellis allegedly assaulted an officer, leading to them trying to restrain him “as he continued to be combative.” After a struggle — which included officers striking him to the ground; punching him; pressing their weight against him and having him shout, “I can’t breathe” while going in and out of consciousness — medics arrived, performed CPR for 30 minutes and pronounced him dead on the scene.
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After watching the disturbing clips, Woodards held a press conference and stated, “The officers’ actions we saw on this video tonight only confirm that Manuel Ellis’ death was a homicide, and today I am asking — no, I am telling you — that I am going to call for several things, and the officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Woodards adds, “It does take a video for so many people to believe the truth about systemic racism and its violent impact on black lives, on my life. I don’t get to take this skin color off every day. I don’t get to come out a different person, and while I am mayor, I am still black. I am still treated as an African American woman. I am still looked at as African American woman. My life could be taken, and today it stops in Tacoma.”
JUST IN | Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards released this statement in response to the family of Mannie Ellis, who died in police custody back in early March. pic.twitter.com/B6QFYqaFXA
— Steve McCarron KOMO (@SteveTVNews) June 5, 2020
JUST IN | Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell also just released a statement regarding the Mannie Ellis case. pic.twitter.com/uYJCZWVb9v
— Steve McCarron KOMO (@SteveTVNews) June 5, 2020
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