TACOMA — A group of Tacoma community organizations has requested a federal investigation into the Tacoma Police Department, alleging that “dangerous and inadequate policies, practices, and disciplinary rules” have led to widespread excessive force and discriminatory policing.
The Tacoma/Pierce County Coalition, which made a formal request to the Department of Justice in a letter dated Aug. 9, held a news conference Monday at Church of the Living God in the Hilltop neighborhood to provide further details about its push for a probe.
“Today, Tacoma speaks with one voice,” coalition spokesperson Bishop Dr. Lawrence White said in a statement. “The rapidity and diversity of support we’ve received is unprecedented. From long-time residents to business owners, from community leaders to young activists, Tacoma is united in saying: It’s time for change. We can no longer accept a status quo that has failed to protect all our citizens equally.”
The coalition’s letter to the DOJ, which the group posted on its website, cited the death of Manuel Ellis in police custody, for which three charged officers were acquitted. It also referred to investigations by The News Tribune that showed TPD disproportionately used force against Black people between 2015 and 2019 and that TPD’s Internal Affairs section rarely sustained citizen complaints against the department, including use-of-force claims.
TPD didn’t have a response on Monday to the coalition’s request for an investigation, according to department spokesperson Sheblie Boyd. Mayor Victoria Woodards and other City Council members didn’t respond to an inquiry seeking comment.
The coalition, which raised other concerns related to TPD’s conduct, said it believed that the department had committed civil rights violations and implored the DOJ to look into the underlying causes and file a lawsuit against the police agency to compel changes if necessary. The coalition said its own recommendations to city leaders and Police Chief Avery Moore to address issues have not been adequately implemented.
In a statement, Tacoma city spokesperson Maria Lee confirmed that the coalition had shared a copy of its letter with the city.
“All City of Tacoma elected leaders and employees will cooperate fully with any resulting actions,” Lee said, adding that the city had committed to anti-racism through passage of a June 2020 resolution. “The City of Tacoma also stands by the meaningful intent and efficacy of recent efforts to increase policing accountability, improve policing transparency, and rebuild trust in community safety for all people of Tacoma.”
A written request
The coalition consists of eight community groups, including Tacoma Urban League and the Tacoma Branch of the NAACP, as well as several individuals. Its letter was addressed to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman for the Western District of Washington.
In requesting an investigation, the coalition said that a comprehensive outside probe was necessary to take on alleged systemic problems within the police department. The issues have persisted, according to the group, despite new leadership and unspecified “well-intentioned” efforts from Moore, who officially took the reins in January 2022.
The letter highlighted the death of Ellis, who was Black. It presented his trial as an example of the challenges in holding law enforcement officers accountable for conduct and said it raised questions about the department’s culture and practices. Three officers charged in the death of Ellis, whose last words were, “I can’t breathe,” were found not guilty by a jury in January. The ACLU determined that the officers’ actions revealed issues that warranted further investigation, including alleged patterns of excessive force and poor policy, according to the coalition’s letter.
“An investigation is needed to root out the policies, disciplinary systems, and practices that failed Black, Indigenous and communities of color in Tacoma before and since Mr. Ellis was brutally killed,” the coalition wrote. “TPD has exhibited a culture of significant resistance to mere policy change — an investigation is necessary to unearth and shift the practices at the department that are causing harm.”
Other issues were underscored.
The coalition pointed to a lawsuit filed in April by TPD’s former chief of staff who alleged he had been subjected to racial bias and discrimination in the agency. The group offered a few examples of alleged discrimination brought by residents against the department, dating back several years in some instances, and said it could provide the DOJ with more accounts upon request. It also claimed that collective-bargaining processes had hindered the establishment of appropriate accountability measures inside TPD.
A message left with Tacoma’s police union was not returned.
“We recognize that Tacoma’s mayor and police chief have inherited this system, which has failed to properly serve the Black community in Tacoma for many years,” the coalition wrote. “Our Coalition is now moving forward to seek federal intervention and oversight to enact the necessary reforms.”
What happens now?
The coalition has called for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to open a pattern-or-practice investigation, which the DOJ says it has used across the United States to “reform serious patterns and practices of excessive force, biased policing and other unconstitutional practices by law enforcement.”
Emily Langlie, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, told The News Tribune that both the district office and the Civil Rights Division in Washington D.C. would look at such requests. The Civil Rights Division would lead on making any decision whether to pursue an investigation, she said.
One prior example is the Seattle Police Department, which entered into a settlement agreement with the DOJ in 2012 to enact reforms after a DOJ investigation found a pattern or practice of excessive force and raised concerns about discriminatory policing. Not until September 2023 was most of the federal oversight lifted from the department.
On Monday, White relayed that the coalition had heard back from the DOJ, who he said acknowledged receipt of the request and assigned a staff member to it, according to a transcript of the press conference.
In the coming months, the coalition will await the DOJ’s response to the request. If approved, White said that the coalition will fully cooperate and be transparent throughout the investigation, engaging with community leaders and collecting stories and data to support the probe, the transcript showed.
“We extend an open hand to (the) Tacoma Police Department as a whole, including city officials,” he said. “This isn’t about us versus them. We’re all part of the same community, and we need to work together for positive change.”
