A former Tacoma police officer acquitted in the police-custody death of Manuel Ellis is likely set to receive a $600,000 settlement from the City of Tacoma after he and his wife claimed false statements by city officials in the wake of Ellis’ death destroyed his reputation.
Tacoma City Council will vote Tuesday evening on whether to authorize the settlement of claims brought by Timothy Rankine and Katherine Chinn, a copy of the council’s agenda shows.
Rankine, 36, was one of three officers tried by the state Attorney General’s Office for the March 3, 2020, death of Ellis. Days after Ellis’ death was ruled a homicide of oxygen deprivation due to physical restraint, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards called for the four officers involved in restraining Ellis to be fired and prosecuted…