Pierce County settles with Manuel Ellis’ family for $4M in lawsuit over police killing

Pierce County will pay roughly $4 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit over the killing of Manuel Ellis by police in 2020.

The Pierce County Council approved the terms of the settlement at their meeting Tuesday. It was tucked into a vote on the council's meeting agenda. The agenda itself was unanimously approved and council members said nothing about the settlement publicly during the meeting.

Instead, the council issued a statement saying that no money will ever compensate for the loss or heartache of Ellis’ family and loved ones. The Council said it hopes its community will, “continue to heal, move forward stronger, and remain committed to making Pierce County a safe, just place for all.”

RELATED: Silent march honors Manuel Ellis

Two years ago, the county medical examiner ruled Ellis, 33, died from a lack of oxygen when police officers put him in a chokehold and held him down, and that his death was a homicide. The suit alleged that Pierce County officers failed to help Ellis and the county failed to respond to officer misconduct.

The civil rights lawsuit was brought last September by Ellis’ sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, and mother, Marcia Carter. The officers deny the allegations.

This settlement ends Pierce County’s involvement in the lawsuit, but Tacoma police officers and the city of Tacoma are still being sued. A criminal case is also pending.

The incident happened after 11 p.m. on March 3, 2020 when police confronted Ellis while he walking home from a 7-Eleven with raspberry donuts and water that he had just bought, according to plaintiff’s court filings.

“As confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses, Manuel was not the aggressor and Officers (Christopher) Collins and (Matthew) Burbank physically assaulted him while his back was turned,” the plaintiffs say in court filings.

Criminal charges by the Washington State Attorney General tell a similar story. The officers are pleading not guilty in that case.

In the confrontation, the cases allege, Tacoma police officers beat, tased, and choked Ellis. They handcuffed and tied him and held him face down on the pavement, court records say. Then, officers put some cloth, called a “spit mask” over his head that is supposed to protect officers from spit and other fluids. Ellis was already struggling to breathe, and the spit mask suffocated him, court records say.

RELATED: Video emerges showing interaction between Ellis and police

At the council meeting, some members of the public said the money was not enough; instead, they pushed for policy changes.

“What we really need to be trying to improve is the relationship between the police and the community,” Lakewood resident and local Black Panther Party leader Bunchy Carter told council members during the public comment period.

“I would hope that in passing along your payment that you’re giving to the Ellis family that there is some thought being given to what needs to happen now, outside of trying to buy our way out of this problem,” he said.

The lawsuit by Ellis’ family alleges the county repeatedly failed to respond to officer misconduct, including not investigating or disciplining officers for excessive force and destroying evidence of complaints against officers.

The Pierce County Council did not address those issues in their statement.