Death of black American man who Said ‘i can’t breath’ while being handcuffed by police in March, has been tagged as a homicide. The black American father of two, Manuel Ellis, 33, died of respiratory arrest on March 3, 2020, in Tacoma, due to hypoxia and physical restraint, said Rich O’Brien, an investigator for the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. Other factors that may have contributed to his death included methamphetamine intoxication and dilated cardiomyopathy, commonly known as an enlarged heart.

The Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’s death a homicide on Wednesday, June 3. The autopsy report was released in the middle of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, which erupted after 46-year-old George Floyd, who also screamed “I can’t breathe” died in police custody in Minneapolis on 25 May. The family of Ellis held a vigil for him after the result of the autopsy was revealed.
