Washington state to consider ban on hog-tying after Manuel Ellis' death

Washington state lawmakers are expected to consider a proposal Monday to prohibit police from hog-tying suspects, nearly four years after Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died facedown with his hands and feet cuffed together behind him in a case that became a touchstone for racial justice demonstrators in the Pacific Northwest.

The restraint technique has long drawn concern due to the risk of suffocation, and while many cities and counties have banned the restraint technique, it remains in use in others.

Democratic Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, who sponsored the bill, said she doesn’t want anyone else to experience the “dehumanization” Ellis faced before his death.

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“How do we move through the need for folks to enforce the laws, but do it in a way where they’re treating people the way we expect, which is as human beings?” she said.

In the last four years, states across the U.S. have rushed to pass sweeping policing reforms, prompted by racial injustice protests and the death of George Floyd and others at the hands of law enforcement. Few have banned prone restraint, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

California prohibited law enforcement in 2021 from using techniques that “involve a substantial risk of positional asphyxia,” in which the body’s position hinders the ability to breathe. That same year, Minnesota banned correctional officers from using prone restraint unless “deadly force is justified.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has recommended against the practice since at least 1995 to avoid deaths in custody, and many local jurisdictions bar it.

The attorney general’s office in Washington recommended against using hog-tying in its model use-of-force policy released in 2022. At least four local agencies continue to permit it, according to policies they submitted to the attorney general’s office that year.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said it still allows hog-tying but declined to comment on the bill. One of the department’s deputies was involved in restraining Ellis, whose face was covered by a spit-hood when he died.

Ellis was walking home in March 2020 when he passed a patrol car with Tacoma police officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, who are white. Burbank and Collins said Ellis tried to get into a stranger’s car and then attacked the officers when they confronted him in the city about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Seattle.

Witnesses said the officers jumped out of their car as Ellis walked by and knocked him to the ground.

He was shocked and beaten. Officers wrapped a hobble restraint device around his legs and linked it to his handcuffs behind his back while he remained in the prone position, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington attorney general’s office.

After the hobble was applied, Ellis stopped moving, the statement said.

A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by lack of oxygen. Collins, Burbank and a third officer, Timothy Rankine, were charged with murder or manslaughter. Defense attorneys argued Ellis’ death was caused by methamphetamine intoxication and a heart condition, and a jury acquitted them in December.

Trudeau, who represents Tacoma, said she made sure Ellis’ sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, approved of her efforts before introducing the bill.

Democratic Sen. John Lovick, who worked as a state trooper for more than 30 years, joined Trudeau in sponsoring the bill.

Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, a member of the House public safety committee, said she looked forward to learning more about the legislation.

“If it does turn out that this form of restraint for combative detainees is dangerous in any way, then I think the state should put together a grant and some money to buy and train on alternative methods to make sure that the officer and the person arrested is safe,” she said.

The bill comes a few years after a wave of ambitious police reform legislation passed in the state in 2021.

The legislation included requirements that officers could use force only when they had probable cause to make an arrest or to prevent imminent injury, and required them to use appropriate de-escalation tactics if possible.

The following year, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee approved bills fixing some elements of that legislation, including making it clear officers may use force to help detain or transport people in behavioral health crises.

George Washington University students project pro-Palestinian activism on school library

Students at George Washington University attended a pro-Palestinian vigil supporting Hamas’ surprise attack that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, that prominently projected messages on the wall of the campus’ library.

“Glory to Our Martyrs,” one projected sign read.

The students projected the large signs on the University’s Gelman Library on the Washington D.C. campus on Tuesday evening. 

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Another sign read, “GW the Blood of Palestinians is on Your Hands.”

“Your Tuition is Funding Genocide in Gaza,” another projected sign read.

On X, the page @StopAntisemites, called for the George Washington University President Ellen Granberg to “immediately expel those who are involved.”

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The president of the over 11,000 student body previously condemned Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel.

“The extent of this brutal violence and the staggering loss of innocent lives has continued to come to light, and I am horrified and grief-stricken,” Granberg wrote in an October 11 press release. “In no uncertain terms, I condemn these acts of terrorism.”

The president also highlighted the importance of “coming together and caring for one another” during the ongoing war.

“My message to our community stressed the importance of coming together and caring for one another, especially those who are Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, or connected to the region and this war,” Granberg added. “I also reiterated our university’s expectations for acting and comporting ourselves when discussing or debating difficult topics. These messages of compassion and understanding remain the foremost priority for this university.”

George Washington University’s media department did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request on if any student protesters were arrested.

A UAW Strike Made in Washington

The underlying cause of the auto walkout is the Biden Administration’s forced electric-vehicle transition.

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Washington state firefighters rescue 12-year-old boy who fell 20 feet down well

A 12-year-old boy in Washington state was rescued Tuesday after he fell 20 feet down a well during recess and was found clinging to a plastic pipe to keep himself above water, officials said. Firefighters in Marysville responded just before 12:30 p.m. and found the boy partially submerged in water, Marysville Fire District said, adding … Continue reading Washington state firefighters rescue 12-year-old boy who fell 20 feet down well

Capitol Christmas Tree arrives in Washington, DC after 13-day trip from North Carolina

Christmas kicked off in Washington, D.C. Friday morning as the 2022 Capitol Christmas Tree arrived at the U.S. Capitol.

‘Ruby,’ the name of this year’s tree, is a 78-foot tall Red Spruce from North Carolina, and it was harvested in the Pigsah National Forest.

The tree and its traveling crew left North Carolina for the Capitol during the first week of November. Live tracking of the tree’s journey began Nov. 5 and ended with the final stop on Nov. 18.

Ruby the Red Spruce made 16 stops along the way and at each one fans could sign a banner, participate in arts and crafts, and learn more about America’s national forests.

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The tree was delivered to its normal spot on the Capitol’s West Lawn at 6 a.m. Friday. Crews spent most of the morning getting the tree off the truck and into its upright position on Capitol Hill. 

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The official lighting ceremony will take place on Nov. 30. 

According to the tree’s Twitter page, Ruby will be lit by Catcuce Micco Tiger (Coche), a fourth grader from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, N.C.

Washington woman found 'beaten to death' in Cancun hotel room during vacation; boyfriend arrested

Jason Transue was trying to convince his daughter, 26-year-old Sativa Transue, to drive across Washington state for Thanksgiving last week, but she told him on Thursday morning that she was going on a last-minute trip to Cancun, Mexico, with her boyfriend of three years, 31-year-old Taylor Allen.