OLYMPIA, WA – (MyBellinghamNow.com) A new bill was introduced to ban the act of hog-tying by Washington state police.

State Senator Yasmin Trudeau introduced the bill in response to 33-year-old Manuel or “Manny” Ellis’s death after he was hog-tied by Tacoma police in 2020. Hog-tying is the act of binding the hands and feet as a means to subdue a person or animal.

The bill would list hog-tying as excessive force, effectively banning its use by law enforcement and correctional officers. According to the US Department of Justice, hog-tying is a commonly used restraining tactic to control unruly behavior. But a study published in American Jails says that the act should be eliminated because of the dangers of suffocation during hog-tying.

The bill came about after Senator Trudeau spoke with Ellis’s family. Hog-tying has been banned by other parts of the country and the world but remains in use here in Washington and other locations.

The bill had a public hearing in the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee Monday and will be moving on to an Executive Session in said committee Thursday.