Video played for jury shows part of Manuel Ellis’ encounter with police the night he died
Chaotic video of two Tacoma police officers’ encounter with the man they’re accused of killing was played for jurors Wednesday afternoon, breaking the stillness of the courtroom where the two officers and a third are being tried.
“Just arrest him,” someone in the eyewitness video yells, as officer Matthew Collins brought Manuel Ellis to the ground and Christopher Burbank shocked him with a Taser, causing the man to flail his legs and scream.
Light sobs could be heard from the side of the courtroom gallery where relatives and supporters of Ellis were seated as the video played. Police radio traffic was audible in the footage alongside others’ yelling off camera.
Ellis, 33, died of oxygen deprivation after encountering police the night of March 3, 2020, the Pierce County medical examiner ruled. Prosecutors with the Washington Attorney General’s Office have said officers attacked and restrained him without justification. Defense attorneys say the officers were simply responding after Ellis attacked their patrol car, and they have focused on the high amount of methamphetamine in his system as another explanation for his death.
Collins, 40, Burbank, 38 and the third officer, Timothy Rankine, 34, remain employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave while they’re on trial. Collins and Burbank are charged with second-degree murder; all three officers are charged with first-degree manslaughter. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Video of the incident played after assistant attorney general Lori Nicolavo spent most of the day questioning forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks about an image-by-image reproduction of the same video, which was taken by a delivery driver who happened upon the scene when officers were grappling with Ellis.
Fredericks told jurors about the locations of Ellis’ hands and Collins and Burbank’s bodies. He said the officer’s knees were mostly on the ground, but there were seconds of contact between Collins’ knee and Ellis’ head. Fredericks also noted two instances in the video where Ellis’ palms were facing officers and above his head.
Then prosecutors played video from a doorbell security camera for a residence near the junction of 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue, where Ellis and the officers’ met. Fredericks said it was the first video to be taken of the incident.
“Can’t breathe sir, Can’t breathe,” Ellis is heard saying.
The pleas for air were followed by frantic screams. Police sirens blare, and a male’s voice can be heard asking if help is needed.
Fredericks also testified about the timeline of the videos he reviewed and another eyewitness video that showed more officers who responded to the scene crowded around Ellis while he was on the ground, a little more than 10 minutes after the incident began.
Fredericks said two officers appeared to be on the other side of Ellis, with one either crouching or kneeling near him and another closer to Ellis’ head. Nicolavo asked him if he could determine how Ellis was positioned.
“He appears to be on the ground, but the video doesn’t give us enough information or resolution to tell if he’s on his side, his back or his stomach,” Fredericks said.
Wednesday ended with Wayne Fricke, an attorney for Burbank, questioning Fredericks about when the doorbell security video of the incident started, how it was activated and what gap there is between the first video clip the camera captured and the first clip that shows officers’ car on the scene.
Fredericks told him the video doesn’t show officers actually arriving at the scene and exiting their vehicles.
Ellis’ sister and mother, Monét Carter-Mixon and Marcia Carter-Patterson, are expected to testify next for the prosecution.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 4:23 PM.
