Manuel Ellis new video appears to show officer using chokehold on black
- 4 years ago
Manuel Ellis new video appears to show officer using chokehold on black
New video released on Monday shows a police officer using a neck restraint on Manuel Ellis, in the crucial moments leading up to the African American man’s death in Tacoma, Washington. The silent video, taken by a man on 3 March in a car directly across the street from the scene, appears to show Ellis in a chokehold, struggling on the ground, when a second officer uses a Taser on him. Ellis is then turned on to his stomach, and at least one officer’s knee is put on his neck or back.“The level of force that the officers used was remarkable,” said James Bible, the lawyer for Ellis’s family. “And there’s nothing that suggests that any portion of what they did was OK at all, including approaching him in any way.”Bible said the man who shot the 59-second video just happened to be driving by the scene, and started recording about 35 seconds to a minute after pulling over “because it was such a shocking event”. The footage contradicts accounts from the Pierce county sheriff’s office that said the officers did not put Ellis in a chokehold and no Tasers were used. The sheriff’s office was initially leading the investigation into Ellis’s death. But last week, Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, ordered a new investigation, in response to questions over the independence of the investigation. Bible said the man who filmed the new footage is remaining anonymous until he can be interviewed by the new investigators. Ellis’s death, which has been ruled a homicide, has become part of the protests over police brutality that have spread across the nation following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer while pleading “I can’t breathe”.
New video released on Monday shows a police officer using a neck restraint on Manuel Ellis, in the crucial moments leading up to the African American man’s death in Tacoma, Washington. The silent video, taken by a man on 3 March in a car directly across the street from the scene, appears to show Ellis in a chokehold, struggling on the ground, when a second officer uses a Taser on him. Ellis is then turned on to his stomach, and at least one officer’s knee is put on his neck or back.“The level of force that the officers used was remarkable,” said James Bible, the lawyer for Ellis’s family. “And there’s nothing that suggests that any portion of what they did was OK at all, including approaching him in any way.”Bible said the man who shot the 59-second video just happened to be driving by the scene, and started recording about 35 seconds to a minute after pulling over “because it was such a shocking event”. The footage contradicts accounts from the Pierce county sheriff’s office that said the officers did not put Ellis in a chokehold and no Tasers were used. The sheriff’s office was initially leading the investigation into Ellis’s death. But last week, Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, ordered a new investigation, in response to questions over the independence of the investigation. Bible said the man who filmed the new footage is remaining anonymous until he can be interviewed by the new investigators. Ellis’s death, which has been ruled a homicide, has become part of the protests over police brutality that have spread across the nation following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer while pleading “I can’t breathe”.