After death of Manuel Ellis, state lawmakers consider ending hog-tying by law enforcement
Washington lawmakers are considering a proposal to prohibit law enforcement officers from using hog-tying methods to restrain individuals.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, along with 10 other Democratic Senators and was heard in the Senate Law and Justice Committee on Monday.
SB 6009 would prohibit law enforcement officers from hog-tying individuals, and the bill would clarify that hog-tying “constitutes the use of excessive force.”
“Distrust in our system impacts everyone’s safety and that’s the bottom line,” Trudeau said during the public hearing for the bill. “And as a body, we’ve agreed that the law enforcement profession, like any others including ours, must secure public trust and ensure accountability if we’re going to move forward together. Which is why we’ve made policy decisions to discontinue practices and tactics that dehumanize and create unnecessary risks of harm and/or death to the people they serve.”
Trudeau added that while the bill is simple, it has “great meaning” for the people in her community. Several testified in support of the legislation, including the sister of Manuel Ellis, who was hog-tied face-down by Tacoma police officers before he died in police custody.
Monèt Carter-Mixon said the use of hog-tying has not only affected her and her family, but also others in their communities.
She noted that the practice of hog-tying was first used on animals to prepare them for branding or slaughtering.
“It’s inhumane for animals, so it should be inhumane to humans as well,” she said.
Carter-Mixon noted that the term “hog-tie” was used in Ellis’ police report after officers had used it on him, but that the trial judge refused to enter the term into official court record because he found the term too “dehumanizing.”
She also noted that the city of Los Angeles banned the practice in 1997.
“This isn’t something new, this isn’t something that the state should be behind on — this should be immediately put into practice because it’s going to save lives,” Carter-Mixon said.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards also testified in favor of the legislation Monday.
But not all who testified were in favor of the legislation.
James McMahan, policy director for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, testified against the proposal.
McMahan said the organization does not “celebrate the use of hog-ties” nor do they like the name of the restraint itself.
“We must acknowledge, however, that a restrained person can still present a danger to themselves and to others, including our officers,” McMahan said. “We do ask that the Legislature not prohibit the tools and tactics necessary to prevent a person from being a harm to our officers or themselves. We want to do this in the safest, most effective and most humane way possible.”
McMahan also noted that law enforcement agencies have new equipment that is “just as effective” and “more humane” than hog-tying, but the equipment is expensive. It also requires three officers to use the equipment. McMahan said the bill leaves open the possibility that this restraint method could be prohibited as well.
All told, 265 people signed in to support the bill, while 19 people signed in opposed to the legislation.
Since 1995, the Department of Justice has advised against using “maximally prone restraint techniques” such as hog-tying, warning that individuals can die from the position.
The technique is already prohibited in Tacoma and Puyallup.
The proposal is scheduled to be considered in executive session on Thursday in the Senate Law and Justice Committee.
A companion bill in the House is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Sharlett Mena, also from Tacoma, and co-sponsored by 31 House Democrats. That bill has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing.
