‘Business as usual:’ KIRO hosts disagree on Thurston County hiring cop acquitted in Ellis’ death

UPDATE: On Wednesday, Christopher Burbank resigned from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office following a negative community response and death threats to his family.

Coverage: Officer acquitted in Manny Ellis’ death, hired in Thurston County resigns

One of the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) officers who was charged and later acquitted of murdering Manuel (Manny) Ellis, has been hired by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO).

Background: Officers acquitted in Manny Ellis death leave Tacoma PD

The TCSO, which is based in Olympia, announced Christopher Burbank’s hiring in a Facebook post Monday.

Burbank will be a lateral patrol deputy and “will provide immediate relief in our patrol division,” states the post.

“This lateral hire marks the end of a drought for TCSO, which has not had a lateral patrol deputy apply and pass all phases of the background process since 2021,” it continues.

Sheriff Derek Sanders said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press (AP) Tuesday that Burbank underwent a two-month background check, including a polygraph. Sanders stressed that his office has strived to improve its crisis response by incorporating mental health co-responders, adding that dashboard and body-worn cameras help provide transparency.

“While acknowledging the distressing nature of the events in Tacoma four years ago, we want to emphasize that Deputy Burbank has been cleared of any wrongdoing both by Tacoma PD, Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office and a jury trial,” Sanders said.

However, many reactions to TCSO’s post were not happy with the decision as Burbank was one of three officers charged with murdering Ellis — “a Black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained facedown on a sidewalk as he pleaded for breath,” wrote the AP.

The officers’ attorneys argued that Ellis died in March 2020 from a lethal amount of methamphetamine as well as a heart condition, not from the officers’ actions. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide and said it was caused by a lack of oxygen during the physical restraint.

Past coverage: 3 police officers found not guilty in Manny Ellis case

Host Gee Scott comments on Washington law enforcement

However, Gee Scott, host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio felt the decision was “business as usual.”

“If you’re found not guilty, you should be able to move on with your life. OK, I just wanna put that out there first. Now I want to explain the feeling that I have personally. When I see that and I hear that, it makes me feel like it’s business as usual, right? I do believe that the state of Washington, when it comes to law enforcement, I think they’re some of the best in the country,” Gee explained. “I actually think the standard of law enforcement in the state of Washington is better than most places in the country. I also believe that other places in the country are so far behind that it is heartbreaking as well.”

Gee again noted that Burbank is free to live his life, but also said decisions like this affect the community and their feelings about it.

“I guess there’s nothing I can say to this because he was found not guilty. He should be able to go and live on and move on … But this is another example of why sometimes some in the community have this feeling of distrust. They have this feeling of, it feels like there’s law enforcement and then there’s the rest of society. It feels like there’s different rules, but again, I understand how he is able to move on,” Gee said.

How do Thurston County residents feel?

Gee also wondered how Thurston County residents would feel about having Burbank working for their sheriff’s office.

“Imagine being excited that TCSO hired a police officer that cost his last department and city untold millions of dollars. Seems like a liability to me,” wrote one Facebook user on TCSO’s post. That comment had 43 “like” and “love” reactions as of Tuesday night.

“If you think we have already forgotten Burbank, you are wrong! Keep this guy OUT of our communities!” wrote another Facebook user, garnering 43 likes (and one ‘laugh’ reaction) as of Tuesday night.

On the other side, another user wrote, “Burbank is one of finest human beings around. Congratulations to him.” That comment picked up 36 reactions, with 24 being of the “like” and “love” variety.

Is Thurston County Sheriff’s Office making a statement?

Travis Mayfield, who filled in as Gee’s co-host on “Gee and Ursula” Tuesday, said that by publicly announcing the hiring, it seemed as if TCSO was making a statement. Also, although the trial is over, there is still an ongoing federal investigation.

Background: US Attorney’s Office to launch its own probe in the death of Manny Ellis

“The FBI is looking at this case, the Western District of Washington State and the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office says that if a review of the case reveals violations of federal criminal statutes, they will act on those,” “Gee and Ursula” producer Andrew Lanier explained. “There’s also an open federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Tacoma and the officers, that case is still pending. This feels a little bit like somebody hiring Kyle Rittenhouse, you know, to do a public speaking event. It’s a message. It’s a statement. Also not guilty. But there’s very complex feelings about this on both sides in the community and by choosing to do so I believe Sheriff Sanders is making a statement.”

Gee ended the segment by saying he would also like to hear from law enforcement.

“A lot of them don’t want to work around bad apples, right? I’m not calling Christopher Burbank a bad apple because he was found not guilty, but there’s still some type of investigation going on in the federal level. So I would like to hear from law enforcement, your thoughts on when a hire happens like this, do you think it’s a statement or are you perfectly fine with it?” Gee asked.

‘My brother was murdered’: Tacoma verdict reaction to verdict in intense, but peaceful

Host Jack Stine finds ‘nothing wrong’ with the decision

On the flip side, host Jack Stine of “The Jack and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio sees nothing wrong with TCSO’s decision.

“I find nothing wrong with this. He and his cohorts were found innocent in a court of law for the murder of Manny Ellis. I don’t agree with the way that Manny Ellis was treated. I think he was treated horribly. I think that, quite frankly, the the family should be entitled to a certain amount of financial compensation because the way that Many Ellis was treated, no American let me repeat for emphasis, no American should be treated in the way that Manny Ellis was treated, regardless of the amount of intoxicants they had in their system,” Jack said.

Jack went on to reiterate that despite the Washington attorney general’s efforts, the officers were found not guilty and are free to move on and get new jobs.

“Now, besides that, we have adjudicated it. Despite Bob Ferguson’s protestations, it went a different way than he wanted it to go, and now these men are free and fair citizens, who can now move about their lives as they see fit. I don’t see anything weird or wrong with this,” he continued.

“Jack and Spike Show” co-host Spike O’Neill agreed with Jack’s sentiments.

“I think it’s exactly how the system is supposed to work,” Spike said. “I mean, these officers all had their day in court. Officer Burbank has found employment in a different community. Of course, nothing’s gonna make everybody happy. It’s going to make some people very, very unhappy, as it should. That’s how you move forward, you make changes.”

What do you think?

So, after hearing from both shows. What do you think? KIRO Newsradio listeners can text 888-973-5476 with their thoughts.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email her here.