Tacoma Police Department

The Tacoma Police Department (TPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Tacoma, Washington, United States. The TPD employs 334 sworn officers and 38 civilian employees. The Chief of Police is Avery L. Moore.

History
The Tacoma Police Department traces its history back to 1874 when the first town marshal was appointed.

Controversies and misconduct
On March 3, 2020, Manuel Ellis, a black man, died while in TPD custody. Ellis said "I can't breathe" several times before his death. On 2 December 2023 Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank were found not guilty. The department offered them each a half million dollars to leave their jobs.

In 2021, several people were hit by an officer in a police car, causing multiple injuries. The officer was responding to reports of vehicles doing doughnuts in the street. It was found that the officer acted in defense for himself and there was no wrongdoing as he was being attacked.