A former Tacoma police officer who was hired as a sheriff's deputy in a neighboring county — despite his involvement in the violent fatal arrest of Manuel Ellis in 2020 — has resigned his new job after just two days.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a written statement Wednesday that he failed to anticipate the community's strong objections to the hiring of Deputy Christopher Burbank, which Sanders said included death threats to Burbank's family. Burbank resigned effective immediately, Sanders said.
Burbank and two other officers — Timothy Rankine and Matthew Collins — were each cleared of criminal charges by a Pierce County jury last December in the death of Ellis, an unarmed Black man who was shocked, beaten and hog-tied facedown on a sidewalk as he pleaded for breath.
Rankine was charged with manslaughter, while Collins and Burbank were charged with manslaughter and second-degree murder. Their attorneys argued that Ellis died 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.
The U.S. attorney's office in Seattle is still investigating and could bring prosecutions for federal civil rights violations. A wrongful death lawsuit against Tacoma is pending.
"When I made the decision to hire Deputy Burbank, I failed to consider the greater community impact and instead made the decision based on business needs to remedy TCSO's staffing crisis," Sanders wrote. "Furthermore, I entirely misjudged community perception on the investigation and jury process that Deputy Burbank completed. I recognize the harm this has caused to marginalized communities, and I was wrong."
Among those who criticized the hiring decision was Matthew Ericksen, an attorney for Ellis' family, who said in an email Tuesday he would be scared if he lived in Thurston County. He noted that video evidence showed Burbank using his Taser on Ellis three times, including while another officer was choking him.
On Wednesday, Ericksen said the family was relieved Burbank had resigned. Between the outpouring of criticism over the hiring and the Washington Legislature's decision this year to bar police from hog-tying suspects — a legal change made in response to Ellis' death — the family has more faith that he won't be forgotten, Ericksen said.
"It's obvious that the public still remembers Manny and the horrific things that happened to him," Ericksen said. "Manny's death was 100% preventable, and the people of Washington know it."
Struggling with understaffing like many law enforcement agencies, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office made a recent hire to provide immediate relief in the patrol division, as announced in a Facebook post.
In response to criticism of the hire, the sheriff stated on Tuesday that the new recruit, Burbank, had undergone a thorough two-month background check, including a polygraph test. Sanders emphasized the office's efforts to enhance crisis response by working with mental health co-responders and ensuring transparency through dashboard and body-worn cameras.
However, by Wednesday, it was evident that the hiring was not going to be successful, leading Sanders to issue an apology.
Reflecting on the situation, Sanders wrote, "Trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets. For those who have lost confidence in me or our mission at TCSO, I apologize for failing you."
The incident involving Ellis, 33, occurred as he was walking home with doughnuts from a 7-Eleven in Tacoma, approximately 30 miles south of Seattle, on March 3, 2020. At an intersection, he passed a patrol car with Collins and Burbank inside.
The officers alleged that Ellis attempted to open a passing car's door, leading to a confrontation when they questioned him. Collins testified that Ellis exhibited "superhuman strength" by lifting him off the ground and throwing him through the air.
But three witnesses testified they saw no such thing. After what appeared to be a brief conversation between Ellis and the officers — who are both white — Burbank, in the passenger seat, threw open his door, knocking Ellis down, they said. Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face-down, knelt on his upper back.
The witnesses — one of whom yelled for the officers to stop attacking Ellis — and a doorbell surveillance camera captured video of parts of the encounter. The video showed Ellis with his hands up in a surrender position as Burbank shot a Taser at his chest and Collins wrapped an arm around his neck from behind.
His death came nearly three months before George Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police would spark an international outcry against police brutality.
The Tacoma Police Department found that the officers did not violate its use-of-force policy as it was then written — it had been subsequently updated — and the three officers were each paid $500,000 to resign.
Pierce County, which is home to Tacoma, settled its portion of a federal wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family for $4 million. The case is still pending against the city.
The trial was the first under a five-year-old state law designed to make it easier to prosecute police accused of wrongfully using deadly force.
