Five years after Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old African American man, died in police custody, the City of Tacoma has agreed to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ellis’ family. This settlement, confirmed by the family’s attorney, James Bible, follows a $4 million payment from Pierce County in 2022, bringing the total financial recovery for the Ellis family to $10 million.
“This has been a remarkable five-year journey, as an entire community sought justice for one of their community members,” Bible said. “There have been a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of difficult, heartbreaking moments. Virtually every member of the Ellis family at some point called me in the middle of the night devastated in tears over the loss of their loved one. This was a David versus Goliath sort of feeling even to get criminal charges filed.”
On March 3, 2020, Ellis died while in the custody of Tacoma police. Even before the murder of George Floyd, Ellis’ last words—captured on a police radio recording—were “I can’t breathe.” Prosecutors revealed that Ellis pleaded, “Can’t breathe, sir,” multiple times during the encounter…