Officer acquitted in death of Manuel Ellis hired by neighboring sheriff’s office

Ellis, a Black man, was shocked, beaten and restrained facedown as he pleaded for breath in Tacoma, Washington, in 2020

One of the three Tacoma police officers cleared of criminal charges in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis – a Black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained facedown on a sidewalk as he pleaded for breath – has been hired by a neighboring sheriff’s office.

The Thurston county sheriff’s office, based in Olympia, Washington, announced on its Facebook page Monday that it had hired former Tacoma officer Christopher Burbank as a patrol deputy.