OLYMPIA — Washington is moving to bar police from hogtying suspects, a proposal spurred by the March 2020 death of 33-year-old Manuel Ellis, who had been hogtied and told police several times that he couldn’t breathe.
The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 6009, which would ban the practice and classify it as excessive force. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
Three police officers charged in Ellis’ death were acquitted by a Pierce County jury in December.
Ellis was also punched, shocked with a Taser, placed in a neck hold, fitted with a nylon spit hood over his face, and knelt and sat on by officers. Ellis’ death was ruled a homicide by the Pierce County medical examiner, caused by oxygen deprivation via physical restraint.
Tacoma Police Department policies at the time of Ellis’ death were silent on hogtying. After Ellis’ death, the Police Department’s collective bargaining agreement with the city was revised to prohibit hogtying. Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards recently endorsed the proposed legislation banning the practice.