Two additional Tacoma police officers involved in restraining a Black man who died in March after saying, “I can’t breathe,” have been identified. His family accuses the police department of covering it up while the four other officers involved sit at home on paid leave.
Manuel Ellis, 33, died of oxygen deprivation during his encounter with police. The Daily Mail reports that the newly identified police officers are Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Det. Sgt. Gary Sanders, an off duty sheriff who helped shove Ellis’ leg to hogtie him. At the same time, Tacoma Police Officer Armando Farina placed a spit hood on Ellis’s head after he complained he couldn’t breathe and was handcuffed lying on the ground.
Neither of the newly identified officers has faced suspension, and both are listed as witnesses in the case. They are not under investigation.
As the investigation into Ellis’ death continues, officers Matthew Collings, Christopher Burbank, Masyih Ford, and Timothy Rankine are on leave.
James Bible, the family’s attorney, said the family was unaware of the other officer’s involvement until now and believe it points to authorities’ coverup.
“There was a remarkable coverup by the city of Tacoma and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office,” said Bible, according to CBS News.
Ellis was on his way home from a convenience store when Tacoma police officers said they saw him trying to get inside a car as it made a turn. Authorities said Ellis charged at an officer, lifted him up, and violently threw him to the ground. Still, a video of the incident filmed by two bystanders refutes the officer’s story of events.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office ruled Ellis’ death a homicide. His cause of death was listed as oxygen deprivation.
