Updated May 27 Tacoma police officers face charges in restraint death of Black man The death in March 2020 made Manuel Ellis’ name synonymous with pleas for justice at protests in the Pacific Northwest. By GENE JOHNSONAssociated Press Share People angered by the death of Manuel Ellis protest on June 5, 2020, in Tacoma, Wash. On Thursday, the Washington state attorney general filed criminal charges against three police officers in the death of Ellis, a Black man who died after telling the officers who were restraining him that he couldn’t breathe. Associated Press/Ted S. Warren SEATTLE — The Washington state attorney general on Thursday charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and another with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after repeatedly telling them he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained.