Tacoma mayor addresses trust issues in police department following Manny Ellis case

TACOMA, Wash. (KOMO) — Victoria Woodards sits in her office on a Friday afternoon and acknowledges the strain of the past week.

“I'm an optimist. But that doesn't mean I don't feel the difficulty and the challenges that face our community,” said Tacoma’s Mayor.

The death of Manny Ellis has hung over Washington’s third-largest city and prompted civic debate for more than three years. Ellis died after a struggle with police in March of 2020, and three officers were charged with murder only to be found not guilty in December after a lengthy trial.

Then, this week, Tacoma announced it paid each of those officers $500,000 each to essentially resign and go away.

RELATED: Group of Tacoma residents decry $500K resignation deals for acquitted police officers

Woodards said she was disappointed with how the information came out and told KOMO News about the police department, “I think there is a lack of trust. I think that's that is absolutely fair to say.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District has announced it has started a federal review of the case, and a civil case is still pending. Pierce County already settled with the Ellis family for $4 million for its role in the handling of the initial investigation.

When asked about the federal probe, Woodards said, “Obviously, that's nothing we have any control in or are involved in.”

Yet, this is arguably the biggest crisis for the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) in more than 20 years, when another case rocked Tacoma’s Municipal Building and threatened to derail the city budget.

RELATED: 3 Tacoma officers acquitted in Manny Ellis' death resign from department

In 2003, then-Tacoma Police Chief David Brame shot and killed his wife, Crystal, before turning the gun on himself. The couple was going through a divorce, and there had been allegations of abuse in the marriage. It was later determined that Brame had failed psychological tests, and then city leaders missed key signs of trouble before his appointment.

Crystal Judson’s family filed formal claims against both Pierce County and Tacoma. Judson’s family initially asked for $75 million from Tacoma, which at the time represented almost half of the city’s general fund.

Both Tacoma and Pierce County settled the case, providing seed money for a new resource center for victims, families, and survivors of domestic abuse.

The Crystal Judson Family Justice Center opened in 2005 and has served thousands of people just a couple of blocks from the Tacoma Municipal Building.

RELATED: U.S. Attorney's Office opens review of state's case surrounding Manny Ellis' death

“I think you have to you have to look at every situation that's a bad situation much like the Judson murder, and try and do something positive out of it,” said Center Director Craig Roberts. He has been at the facility since it opened and understands the comparison, in that the center was created out of a settlement involving the police department. “Our regret is that not everybody knows about this. We wish more people would come because we found that this really changes people's lives.”

Woodards was on the center’s board during those first few years and says, “It was born out of the community, out of what can we do? How can we? How can we say to our community, or show our community that we take this very seriously, and how can we give them some assurances?”

What does that look like now? Woodards said Ellis’ death has already prompted changes to Tacoma’s use-of-force policy, and Chief Avery Moore is reform-minded.

RELATED: Tacoma officers cleared in Manny Ellis' death could still face discipline from department

The mayor said she once hated Tacoma’s nickname of "grit city" but now says that the community will have to "get gritty" to solve the problems and mend fences.

“It's not going to happen tomorrow. It's not going to happen in six months. But it's going to take time,” she said.