Lawmakers in Washington state have made a clear statement against a controversial police restraint method. The state House passed a bill banning police from hog-tying suspects, citing the technique's potential for danger and its inhumane nature. Democratic Rep. Sharlett Mena highlighted the urgency of the ban during the vote, saying, "This practice is dehumanizing, and it's dangerous," as reported by OPB.
The legislative move comes on the heels of a tragic case from 2020, when Manuel Ellis, a Black man, died after being hog-tied by police in Tacoma. Ellis's death, which a medical examiner ruled a homicide caused by lack of oxygen, stirred public outrage and became a rallying point for racial justice advocates in the region. "He was hog-tied by police. He pleaded he couldn’t breathe, and he died in the heart of our community," Mena said, according to a statement obtained by PBS Newshour.
The bill, previously cleared by the Senate, is now poised to return to the legislative body for verification. Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, awaits the final version to affix his signature. In a bipartisan acknowledgment of the bill's merit, Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker expressed her support despite concerns about the financial impact on smaller jurisdictions. "I feel like by this bill passing, for me Madam Speaker, we’re starting to amend that relationship between law enforcement and the community," Mosbrucker told U.S. News.
The U.S. Department of Justice has discouraged the use of hog-tying since at least 1995 to prevent deaths in custody. Similarly, the Washington Attorney General's office recommended against the method in its model use-of-force policy issued in 2022. Despite these recommendations, at least four local agencies in Washington continue to allow the practice per their submitted policies, to the attorney general’s office last year.
