2 Tacoma officers involved in death of Manuel Ellis exonerated following investigation

Two Tacoma police officers involved in the death of Manuel Ellis in March of 2020 were exonerated following a lengthy Internal Affairs investigation.

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Ellis died while in police custody on March 3, 2020, telling officers who were restraining him that he could not breathe. Parallels have since been drawn in the Puget Sound region between Ellis and George Floyd, with members of the community — as well as Ellis’ family — pushing to see justice served.

Two Tacoma officers — Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins — were charged with second-degree murder in May of 2021, while a third, Timothy Rankine, was charged with first-degree manslaughter charges. In total, six officers were involved.

Neither of the two officers exonerated this week — Armando Farinas and Masiyh Ford — were among the officers charged for Ellis’ death. Both had been on leave pending the results of an internal investigation, and will soon be allowed to resume patrol duty following “several weeks of training.”

Farinas had placed a spit hood over Ellis’ face, but was said to have had “no other contact” with him.

“At the time of the application, officers on scene, including Officer Farinas, were concerned about a possible biohazard exposure due to Mr. Ellis spitting near officers,” a statement from TPD reads. “Officer Farinas was familiar with how a spit hood worked and volunteered to retrieve one and apply it.”

“While the investigation did show that Officer Farinas placed the spit hood on Mr. Ellis, it was found the actions of Officer Farinas were reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances,” the statement continued.

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Ford was said to have taken “hold of Mr. Ellis’ legs to allow him to be detained in a restraint.”

“Other witnesses confirmed that once Mr. Ellis was detained, Officer Ford continued to speak with Mr. Ellis trying to calm him down and let him know medical aid was on the way,” the Tacoma Police Department said. “When Mr. Ellis commented that he could not breathe, Officer Ford assisted in rolling him onto his side in a recovery position.”

Tacoma PD released a statement on Tuesday, welcoming the Farinas and Ford back to work:

We are pleased to welcome Officers Armando Farinas and Masiyh Ford back to active duty with the Tacoma Police Department. They are dedicated servants to our City and members of our community. After a thorough review of their actions by the Washington State Patrol and the Washington Attorney General’s Office, they were found to have no culpability in the death of Manuel Ellis. Their actions have again been reviewed thoroughly, this time by the Tacoma Police Department and other City officials. Their exoneration of any misconduct reaffirms that they followed their training and the Tacoma Police Department’s policies and expectations.

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