3 officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma

Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died in handcuffs while being restrained by Tacoma police on March 3, 2020.

This is the first time the AG’s office criminally charged police officers in Washington state for the unlawful use of deadly force and the second time homicide charges were filed against law enforcement officers since the state adopted Initiative 940 in November 2018.

If convicted, standard sentencing for second-degree murder for someone with no prior criminal history is 10-18 years in prison and 6.5-8.5 years for first-degree manslaughter. The AG’s Office said the maximum sentence for both offenses is life in prison.