Three Seattle Deputies Looking At Jail Time for Murder & Manslaughter
How states’ attorney generals are stepping up doing their own independent investigation
Bad deeds eventually do surface. It may be days, months or years, but nothing or no one completely escapes, it could very well happen on their dying bed but karma does come calling. Also, the bible says when you live by the sword you will die by the sword. Metaphorically speaking, a gun or murderous deeds do not escape. Shockingly, not a week or month goes by that someone, especially people of color, dies at the hands of law enforcement.
So much comes to the light as the bad cops seem to be ruling the roost shielded by qualified immunity and possibly lacking desertification. How much blood is on these bad cops hands? Much is coming to light nowadays due to cop’s video cameras and public cameras. Just imagine how many deaths have been swept under the rug, so much so that it had become the norm and a pandemic dating back to years, to many to count.
Punishment is on the horizon in many states and it is long overdue. The Washington state attorney general smelled injustice and has decided to charge two Tacoma police officers with murder and a third with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a 33 year old Black man, in spite of his callout that he could not breathe as they restrained him and Timothy Rankine, (Asian Cop), put pressure on Ellis’ back. Manuel Ellis was tased, handcuffed and hogtied while his face was covered by a spit hood. Three armed cops against one unharmed hogtied, head covered black man and they couldn't assist him to breathe. What happened to protect and serve? What happened to common decency? What happened to morals and honoring the badge worn?
So thrilled now that these bad cops are being called out by name so the world knows their names, Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, (both white), are charged with second-degree murder and Timothy Rankine, (Asian), first-degree manslaughter and are currently in custody soon to be arraigned.
Manuel Ellis cries were caught on a home security camera and one of the officers video cam while one cop was heard as he pleaded to breathe saying, ,“Shut the f — up, man.” According to three civilian who witnessed the altercation conveyed that the Ellis was not fighting back and they never saw him strike the officers.
How does one or three humans be so negligent in taking the life of another and their lives were not even been threatened? Three cops and not one tried to intercede. This is appalling. What type of mindset does this? Does one hate another due to the color of skin, that bad?
Around the country, attorney general offices are seeing the reality before their eyes where racist cops are killing people of color without just cause and need to be held accountable, henceforth. With these charges, along with convictions, these bad cops are going to think twice from continuing such ill behavior. This is the first time in Seattle that the attorney general’s office has charged police officers with unlawful use of deadly force. These three officers if convicted could be imprisoned from 10–18 years for second-degree murder with no prior criminal history and 6–8 1/2 years for manslaughter.
When it comes to people of color, there seem to be an automatic assumption that they are always in the wrong place at the wrong time and doing something illegally. According to reports, Ellis had recently returned from church where he was a drummer, walked to a convenience store for some snacks as he was accosted by these officers. Burbank and Collins claimed he was trying to get into occupied cars at a red light. Occupied cars at a red light? How many cars can he get in at one time at a red light? To further make Ellis the bad guy, these officers claimed that Ellis was the aggressor as he punched the window of their cruiser and attacked them as they got out. This sounds like a fabricated story justifying murder.
These cops obviously did not care who was watching them as they took a Ellis’s life right before the community’s eyes. Two witnesses who recorded parts of the fatal interaction, shared identical stories conveying that the officers were the aggressors and attacked without provocation. They shared how the officer in the passenger side of the patrol car slammed his door into Ellis, knocked him down, then jumped on him and started beating him. The witnesses’ words and cameras told the truth, to bad the same can not be shared about these three racist cops and their department head.
The Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer, in the defense of these deputies denied allegations that one of his deputies had placed his knee on Ellis’ neck and head, until the witness’s video surfaced later and contradicted his statement. This has been the norm with law enforcement with too much coverup over the years which gave license to these bad cops to continue their ritual of killing people of color, even without just cause. To further the injustice, it was three months before the investigation into Ellis’ death revealed that one of the deputies was involved in restraining Ellis. There was so much coverup that the Washington State Patrol and the attorney general took over the investigation.
After these deputies were found responsible and maliciously caused Manuel Ellis death, officials looked into Manuel Ellis background stating he had a history of mental illness, (schizophrenia), and addiction. Neither justifies murder. So does these cops have a history of mental illness of sort and addiction of sort as both stem from their dislike and mistreatment of people of color. Ellis was not trained to deal with ill behaved deputies but deputies are supposed to be trained dealing with civilian of all types of behavior. According to officials, these three deputies served in the Army, and had received training on crisis intervention.
Ellis’ family has filed a $30 million lawsuit against the city as they are demanded transparency, accountability and racial justice. They should be able to sue the sheriff department and the involved deputies. Making all pay is the first step in bringing about a change to a horrible unspoken practice. Their outcry along with the public was the catalyst that caused Governor Jay to convened a task force to suggest ways to ensure independent reviews of police use of deadly force. Also, coming forth is signed packages of police accountability legislation, banning police chokeholds, neck restraints, no-knock warrants, decertification of bad cops, and an independent office to review deadly force cases.
In conclusion, no matter what happens, Ellis’ life is gone and cannot be gotten back but imprisoning these deputies and the likes of them is a major start in stopping this type of behavior. Even the medical examiner conveyed that Ellis’ death was due to lack of oxygen from being restrained, with an enlarge heart and methamphetamine intoxication as contributing factors. The police union and the department officials has got to stop the cover ups. If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Accountability and transparency is long overdue. Lastly, make your vote count and demand better from city officials.
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