The retconning of Manny Ellis + weekly headlines
"You can't plan for news," is one of the many adages I heard a lot in Gonzaga's tiny journalism program¹. The refrain continues, "but you can be prepared." This was especially true late last week when NPR was hurting for stories going into Labor Day weekend and we pushed my decertification feature to the front of the pile. But then there was major news out of Gaza on Sunday morning. Listen to the final story as heard on Weekend Edition Sunday... a week later.
Meanwhile... I did an interview with KNKX (88.5 FM) to talk more about decertification in Washington.
The retconning of Manny Ellis
Before we get to news headlines... in his Substack newsletter The Watch this week, investigative journalist and former WaPo opinionist³ Radley Balko published a reply to two responses he got to his takedown of conservative publications, like Bari Weiss's⁴ Free Press, pushing a nonsense conspiracy that Derek Chauvin was unjustly convicted of murdering George Floyd.
The well-worn debates around deferring to cops over civilians... sanitizing violence through the lens of police tactics... casting doubt on officers’ culpability by blaming drugs and debunked "medical" theories...
It’s giving me flashbacks to the courtroom in Tacoma last fall when defense attorneys argued that it was lawful and reasonable to beat, Taser and hogtie Manny Ellis, and then press into his back after he begged to breathe. They argued, more or less, “He killed himself by resisting police officers.”
Similar to ex-Tacoma officers Matt Collins, Shane Burbank and Timmy Rankine, the people who have continued to defend Chauvin split hairs about exactly how long his knee was on George Floyd’s neck or whether it was sometimes on his back.
Balko: “But this isn’t what the state actually argued. Prosecutors argued at the trial that Chauvin’s weight, the handcuffs, and the asphalt underneath Floyd restricted his ability to expand his diaphragm. He couldn’t sufficiently inhale. This caused his oxygen levels to drop and the CO2 in his blood to soar, ultimately resulting in his heart and lungs shutting down.”
They’ve also attacked the otherwise unquestioned work of the county medical examiners involved, and claimed that the men killed would have died whether or not they had been pinned under the weight of police while saying they couldn’t breathe.
That’s my impression at least. Read the whole thing and let me know what you think.
Radley Balko
The Weekly News Links
Send me links: jared@pnwjusticejournal.org
Good Reads
- A South Carolina high school cop was accused of sexual misconduct with kids. He kept his job for years and just avoided prison time – Washington Post
- Related: How a Massachusetts cop allegedly groomed and killed Sandra Birchmore – The Marshall Project
- Who gets to kill in self-defense? – New York Times
- Related: Some survivors are locked up for their abusers' crimes. Here's how – The Marshall Project
- They earned parole. A court order keeps them from returning home – KQED
- Related: California lawmakers decline to hear criminal justice reform bill before session ends – Sacramento Bee
Policing
- The ‘quixotic’ no-youth-jail, no-police dream has finally ended in Seattle – Seattle Times
- DACA recipients now eligible to be police officers in Washington – Cascade PBS
- Cop defied orders, drove dangerously through neighborhood – Divest SPD
- Drug possession is a crime again in Oregon. Here’s what you need to know – OPB
- Seattle sex workers alarmed by proposal to recriminalize “prostitution loitering” – Real Change
- How WA cities are responding to the Supreme Court homelessness ruling – Seattle Times
Politicking
- Conservative WA sheriff and school board member ice mainstream Republicans out of Congressional race – Cascade PBS
- Public safety, personnel prioritized in Meridian's budget – Idaho Press
- ‘Mismanagement’? Pierce Exec forced to declare emergency to save homelessness response – The News Tribune
- PACs are donating cash to Pierce County campaigns. Here’s who is benefiting the most – The News Tribune
Lawyering
- Idaho AG under ethics investigation by Idaho State Bar after complaint – Idaho Capital Sun
- Judge greenlights lawsuit over suburban 911 response – Willamette Week
- Burien faces another homelessness lawsuit, this one about religion – Seattle Times
- Accusation against Federal Way gun shop results in $2M for police – Seattle Times
Incarcerating
- At the center of WA’s DCYF firestorm: A man who can be his own worst enemy – Seattle Times
- Judge dismisses Idaho death row inmate’s post-conviction claims of cruel and unusual punishment – Idaho Reports
- More: What to know about Idaho’s botched execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech – Associated Press
- WA prisoners pay millions for phone calls but the state isn’t spending it – Washington State Standard
- Related: Oregon should provide free phone calls for prisoners, corrections ombuds says – OregonLive
- Ada County grand jury indicts man for murder in beating death in Idaho prison; victim’s family fighting for change to prison system – Idaho Press, Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman
- To mitigate jail deaths, Multnomah County sheriff outlines plans to improve health and safety – OregonLive
- Related: Sheriff says it will take “years” to sufficiently staff Multnomah County Jails – Willamette Week
- Idaho prisoners can get hormone therapy–for now–judge rules – Idaho Capital Sun
Health & Safety
- What safety measures will be in place on first day of school in Seattle? – Seattle Times
- Washington state puts $29 million toward loans for communities most impacted by 'war on drugs' – KUOW
- America’s nuclear ‘downwinders’ deserve justice – Idaho Capital Sun
- Security highly visible as students return to Seattle's Garfield High – My Northwest
- Portlanders who rarely visit downtown are more likely to take a bleak view of the city’s trajectory – Willamette Week
- Workgroup issues recommendations to address medical examiner crisis – Willamette Week
- Spokane and regional 911 communications system remain at impasse – The Spokesman–Review
National
- The Real-Time Crime Index shows declining crime in 2024 – Jeffalytics
- Georgia shooting suspect asked about school shooting threats online in 2023 – New York Times
- More: the 14-year-old suspect’s father has been arrested – Associated Press
- Former Las Vegas official convicted in journalist’s murder – New York Times
- Chicago police oversight officials fired after alleging boss has anti-cop bias – Chicago Sun-Times
- For years, he has saved lives in rural America. Who will take his place? – New York Times
Footnotes
1: Wait... was most of my journalism education just a bunch of adages? Lol @ higher ed.
2: You'd be right if you think I'm making this all up as I go.
3: As my wife, who really wants to get journalism culture, says.
4: There are no rules(!) when it comes to apostrophes on words ending in S.
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