Ex-Tacoma cop acquitted in Manuel Ellis’ death plans defamation suit

One of three former Tacoma police officers acquitted in the 2020 killing of Manuel Ellis has taken steps to sue city and state officials with his wife for a total of $47 million, alleging they falsely accused him of racist and criminal misconduct, destroying his reputation and ruining his chances of finding work.

Joan Mell, an attorney representing Timothy “Timmy” Rankine and his wife, Katherine Chinn, filed claims on behalf of the couple in March with the city of Tacoma and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Rankine is seeking $35 million in damages from the city and state, and Chinn is seeking $12 million, according to copies of their filings provided by Mell.

Rankine’s and Chinn’s filings do not reference specific statements by the city or attorney general, or describe the ongoing threats or violence they say they have experienced. Neither responded to interview requests Tuesday.

Spokespeople for the city of Tacoma and the state Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the filings, and said the other two officers involved in Ellis’ death – Mathew Collins and Christopher “Shane” Burbank – had not filed similar notices with the city, nor had their spouses.

Burbank resigned just two days after being hired last month as a sheriff’s deputy by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, after public outcry over his hiring. Burbank’s attorney, Wayne Fricke, said Burbank has since decided to look for a job outside of law enforcement.

“It’s not our intent to file a claim, not because we don’t believe there is some merit,” Fricke said. “Whether there’s merit or lack thereof, he’s moving on.”

Collins’ attorney, Casey Arbenz, said Collins had no plans to file a tort claim notice similar to Rankine’s but declined to comment further.

Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died at a south Tacoma intersection on March 3, 2020, after Rankine, Collins and Burbank shocked, beat and hogtied him while he repeatedly pleaded for air. Collins and Burbank are white and Rankine is Asian American.

Ellis’s killing occurred nearly three months before George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer triggered nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.

A Pierce County jury cleared the three officers of criminal charges in Ellis’ death in December. The Tacoma Police Department paid them each $500,000 settlements to resign one month later, after finding they did not violate the department’s use-of-force policy as it was then written. The policy has since been updated.

Records show the state’s police academy warned the Tacoma Police Department in December 2018 about Rankine, who was the lone recruit in his academy class of 30 to shoot an on-screen suspect in a virtual test – an action his instructor called “completely unjustifiable.”

The department hired Rankine two months later.

On Dec. 16, 2019, less than a year on the job, Rankine knelt on a man while attempting to handcuff him. A cellphone video showed Rankine and fellow Tacoma police Officer Masyih Ford dragging Dustin Dean down a flight of stairs before Rankine knelt on his back as Dean repeatedly screamed, “I can’t breathe!”

Tacoma police personnel records show Rankine and Ford were never investigated or disciplined for the incident, but Dean filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the city of Tacoma. The lawsuit’s proceedings have been postponed until after Rankine and Ford go before a jury trial in June 2025, court records show.

Three months later, Rankine knelt on Ellis and did not immediately get up, despite Ellis repeatedly saying he couldn’t breathe. Ellis died within minutes.

“[Ellis’] family is troubled that somebody would be seeking that amount of money, when they’ve been in a place that they’ve had to day in and day out know that they don’t have their loved one anymore as a result of the actions and inactions of the person who has decided to make this claim,” said James Bible, an attorney for Ellis’ family and for Dean. “Rankine could have acted to save Manuel Ellis or intervened, but instead, he sat on his body in a George Floyd-like fashion.”

In January, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Western Washington announced it was launching a review of the state prosecutors’ case against the three officers involved in Ellis’ death, and could bring prosecutions for federal civil rights violations. The case is still under review.

Pierce County settled with Ellis’ family for $4 million after they filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the county and city of Tacoma. The case against the city is still pending.