Crime
Officer acquitted in 2020 death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma is employed by neighboring sheriff’s office
SEATTLE (AP) — One of three Tacoma law enforcement officials cleared of criminal charges in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis — a Black man who was shocked, beaten and pinned face down on the sidewalk as he pleaded for breath — has been hired by the neighbor’s sheriff’s office.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, based in Olympia, Washington, announced Monday on its Facebook page that it has hired former Tacoma Officer Christopher Burbank as a patrol deputy.
Burbank and two other officers – Timothy Rankine and Matthew Collins – were cleared of criminal charges by a Pierce County grand jury last December. Rankine was charged with manslaughter, while Collins and Burbank were charged with manslaughter and second-degree murder.
Their lawyers argued that Ellis died from a lethal dose of methamphetamine and heart disease, not in consequence of the officers’ actions. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide and determined it was caused by lack of oxygen during physical restraint.
Ellis’ family was shocked and saddened by the hiring, said attorney Matthew Ericksen. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle continues to review the case, which could result in criminal prosecution for federal civil rights violations, and a wrongful death lawsuit is pending.
“There is strong evidence in the Ellis case, including but not limited to cell phone videos, that should be of interest to any reasonable person,” Ericksen said in an email Tuesday. “There is no dispute that Mr. Burbank tased an unarmed person 3 times. Mr. Burbank even used a Taser when one other officer choked Manny.
Like many law enforcement agencies across the country, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is fighting staffing shortages; a Facebook post announcing the hiring said Burbank would “provide immediate assistance to our patrol division.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Sheriff Derek Sanders said Burbank underwent a two-month background check, including a polygraph examination. Sanders emphasized that his office is attempting to improve its emergency response by including mental health professionals, and added that the dashboard and body-worn cameras help provide transparency.
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“While recognizing the disturbing nature of the events in Tacoma four years ago, we want to emphasize that Deputy Burbank has been cleared of any wrongdoing by both the Tacoma Police Department, the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office and the jury trial,” Sanders said.
Ellis, 33, was walking home with donuts from a 7-Eleven in Tacoma, about 30 miles south of Seattle, on March 3, 2020, when he passed a police automotive stopped at a red light with Collins and Burbank inside.
Officers claimed they saw Ellis attempting to open the door of a passing automotive on the intersection, and after they tried to query him, he became aggressive. Collins testified that Ellis demonstrated “superhuman strength” by lifting Collins off the bottom and throwing him into the air.
However, three witnesses testified that they saw nothing of the sort. After what seemed to be a transient conversation between Ellis and the officers – who were each white – Burbank, in the passenger seat, threw open the door, knocking Ellis down, they said. Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face down, knelt on his back.
Witnesses – one of whom shouted for officers to stop attacking Ellis – and an intercom surveillance camera recorded video of part of the encounter. The video shows Ellis together with his hands raised in a give up position as Burbank shot him in the chest with a stun gun and Collins put his arm around his neck from behind.
His death got here nearly three months before the murder of George Floyd by the hands of Minneapolis police, which sparked international protests against police brutality.
The Tacoma Police Department found that the officers didn’t violate its use-of-force policy on the time – which was subsequently updated – and the three officers each received $500,000 to resign.
Pierce County, where Tacoma is positioned, has settled part of the family’s federal wrongful death lawsuit for $4 million. The case against the town is still pending.
The trial was the primary under a five-year-old state law intended to make it easier to prosecute police accused of illegal use of deadly force.
Crime
Sean “Diddy” Combs faces five new sexual assault trials
Several more plaintiffs got here forward this week accusing rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse. On November 19, three men and two women filed separate complaints against the Bad Boy Records founder through Tony Buzbee, a lawyer who previously said he would represent greater than 100 clients accusing Combs of misconduct.
“For years, Combs and his companies have engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of violence against women, men and minors,” the entire complaints read: in keeping with People magazine. “This abuse was at times verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. As part of his pattern of molestation, Combs manipulated both men and women into participating in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity, with both prostitutes and unsuspecting partygoers.”
The new plaintiffs include an unidentified man who claims the rapper sexually assaulted him when he was 39 years old. At a house party in New York in 2022, the plaintiff alleged that he was given a drink that left him feeling disoriented and uncontrolled. his body, which ultimately caused him to lose consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, he recalls being in a “dark bedroom with black walls, on a bed with black sheets”, where he realized that Combs was “sodomizing him”. The plaintiff claims he fought with the rapper before leaving the party.
Other male plaintiffs, including an unnamed former actor, remember feeling disoriented, passing out and waking up as Combs sexually assaulted them. With allegations dating back to 2001, all five complaints said Combs’ alleged abuse was “shockingly typical” since the star believed he was “above the law.”
“That said, Mr. Combs vehemently and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” attorney Erica Wolff added in a press release. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and defending himself in court where the truth will be determined by evidence, not speculation.”
Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on criminal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. The star’s trial is scheduled to happen in May 2025.
Crime
Founder of an AI Tech startup accused of fraud and combining numbers with investors
Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, CEO of startup AllHere Education, Inc. dealing with AI education accused of defrauding investors.
The Southern District of New York prosecuted Smith-Griffin securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The grand jury indictment alleged that Smith-Griffin lied concerning the education platform’s funds and posed as a financial consultant to supply false information to investors. While acting as a financial consultant for AllHere Education, Smith-Griffin is accused of falsifying the corporate’s financial records mislead potential investors and inflate the worth of her company and its revenues.
AllHere Education is an AI-powered learning platform utilized in primary and secondary schools. Smith-Griffin has had little success integrating the K-12 platform into individual school districts in California and Georgia. However, the principal didn’t secure long-term contracts with school districts. She used these short-term partnerships to misrepresent to investors the reach and financial success of AllHere Education.
Smith-Griffin told potential AllHere investors that AllHere generated about $3.7 million in revenue in 2020, about $2.5 million in money and has major school district customers similar to New York City Department of Education (“NYC DOE”) and Atlanta Public Schools. In fact, AllHere generated roughly $11,000 in revenue in 2020, had roughly $494,000 in money, and had no contracts with many of the clients it represented, including the NYC DOE and Atlanta Public Schools.
Smith-Griffin continued to boost capital to support the startup, raising one other $10 million in funding. When the corporate collapsed financially, Smith-Griffin allegedly used the money injection to pay for an extravagant three-day wedding in Florida and a residence in North Carolina.
FBI Deputy Director James E. Dennehy commented on Smith-Griffin’s decision to prioritize her personal aspirations over the needs of an educational platform.
“Her alleged actions impacted the potential to improve the learning environment in core school districts by selfishly prioritizing personal expenses,” he said.
Smith-Griffin faces a compulsory two years in prison for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 20 years for every fraud charge. AllHere Education is currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Crime
Prosecutors say Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to obstruct justice by heading to prison
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was trying to reach potential witnesses and influence public opinion while in prison in a bid to influence potential jurors in an upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said in a court filing during which they urged a judge to deny his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed Friday evening in federal court in Manhattan, which opposed the music mogul’s latest offer of $50 million bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded phone calls Combs made while in prison shows that he asked relations to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create a “narrative” to influence the jury pool. They say he also encouraged the use of promoting strategies to influence public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again – even while in custody – that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly disregard the foundations so as to improperly influence the consequence of his case. In other words, the defendant has demonstrated that he can’t be trusted to abide by the terms and conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a press release containing redactions.
Prosecutors wrote that from his behavior it might be inferred that Combs wanted to blackmail victims and witnesses into remaining silent or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Combs’ lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the foundations almost immediately after being taken into custody Metropolitan Prison Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to the costs brought against him he abused and molested women for years with the assistance of a network of collaborators and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges found he was a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a 3rd bail application after rejecting two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail offer.
In their motion, they cited modified circumstances, including latest evidence, that they believed justified Combs’ release so he could higher prepare for his May 5 trial.
However, prosecutors said defense lawyers created the most recent bail proposal based on evidence provided to them by prosecutors, and the brand new material was already known to defense lawyers after they submitted previous bail applications.
In their presentation to the judge, prosecutors said Combs’ behavior in prison shows he must remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs asked relations to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing a potential jury in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts of them gathering to have a good time his birthday, he added.
He then monitored statistics on the jail, including audience engagement, and “explicitly discussed with the family how to ensure the film would have the desired impact on potential jury members in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs made clear in other conversations that he intended to anonymously publish information that he believed would help him defend against the costs.
“Defendant’s efforts to impede the fairness of these proceedings also include his persistent efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of violence, who could provide strong testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
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