![Two officers exonerated of policy violations in Manuel Ellis death](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200610133206-photo-manuel-ellis-super-tease.jpg)
Two officers exonerated of policy violations in Manuel Ellis death
CNN
Two officers investigated for policy violations related to Manuel Ellis' death in March 2020 have been exonerated and cleared to return to work, according to a news release from the Tacoma Police Department.
Ellis was a Black man who died while in police custody, CNN previously reported. He could be heard crying, "I can't breathe," on police dispatch audio.
Officer Armando Farinas was investigated for his "application of a spit hood" on Ellis, the police department said. "While the investigation did show that Officer Farinas placed the spit hood on Mr. Ellis, it was found the actions of Officer Farinas were reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances."
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Amid Democrats’ shock and bickering over how much to respond to President Donald Trump is a deeper question rippling through leaders across the Capitol and across the country: How much should they rely on the same institutional and procedural maneuvers they used during the first Trump term, and how much are they willing to wield their own wrecking balls?
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In less than a month in office the Trump administration has simultaneously dismantled foreign aid programs that support fragile democracies abroad and put on leave federal workers who protect US elections at home in a move that current and former officials say abandons decades of American commitments to democracy.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell was a generational force for the Republican Party — using procedural tactics and political will to stymie much of former President Barack Obama’s agenda, hand President Donald Trump key first-term political victories and deliver a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority. Now he’s the odd man out.