State rests in trial of Tacoma police charged in Manuel Ellis’ death. Here’s what we know
Prosecutors in the trial of three Tacoma police officers accused of killing Manuel Ellis, an unarmed Black man, called their final witness Wednesday morning and rested their case.
Jurors were excused for the rest of the day while attorneys for the officers launched an attempt to have charges dismissed, arguing that prosecutors hadn’t put on any evidence that showed the individual officers’ actions caused Ellis’ death.
Should the motion to dismiss fail, court is expected to resume Monday, when the defense will begin to make their case. Jurors will first hear from an attorney for officer Matthew Collins, whose legal team reserved its opening statements until prosecutors from the Washington State Attorney General’s office rested.
Then, the defense will call its first witness. Attorneys representing the officers, Christopher Burbank, Collins and Timothy Rankine, have listed more than 150 people as potential witnesses, but the lawyers have told the court they expect to present a swift case.
About three dozen people gathered outside the County-City Building on Wednesday afternoon to demand justice for Ellis. They chanted and carried signs at the Tacoma Avenue South entrance.
Over the last six weeks, jurors heard testimony from four eyewitnesses whose accounts of the deadly police encounter contradicted the officers’ version of events, a host of medical experts who agreed Ellis’ death was caused by the way police restrained him and a use-of-force expert who said the officers used excessive force.
Jurors were also shown several videos of the encounter and heard a recording of Ellis’ repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe.” His panicked pleas for breath were captured on a doorbell camera some distance away from where officers were handling Ellis.
Prosecutors have claimed that all three officers heard the man was in distress and should have immediately intervened to render aid, a requirement of Initiative 940, a police accountability law adopted by the state Legislature in 2019. This is the first trial that will test the new law.
Ellis, 33, was walking home the night of March 3, 2020 in Tacoma’s South End when he encountered police and was beaten, briefly put in a headlock, shocked with a series of Taser shots and restrained on the ground. Officers sat on his back while the man was bound in handcuffs tied to his ankles.
His cause of death was determined by the Pierce County medical examiner to be a form of oxygen deprivation caused by physical restraint, and it was ruled a homicide. Four eyewitnesses have testified that police instigated the altercation, and that Ellis did not fight back as police subdued and restrained him.
Officers Burbank, Collins and Rankine are charged with first-degree manslaughter for killing Ellis. Collins and Burbank also face charges of second-degree murder. The defendants have pleaded not guilty, are free on bail and remain on paid leave from the Tacoma Police Department.
Lawyers for the officers have argued that police had to subdue Ellis because he was aggressive and resisted arrest, and they have pointed to the man’s underlying health conditions and methamphetamine intoxication as another explanation for his death.
Earlier in the morning, attorneys completed their questioning of prosecutors’ use of force expert, John Ryan. Under a re-direct examination by assistant attorney general Lori Nicolavo, Ryan agreed that a Washington State Patrol officer said he was on the scene for about three to four minutes and saw Ellis in a prone position the entire time.
Ryan testified that standard police practice would be to put a person on their side or sitting up once they are secured in handcuffs. He said in regard to his opinions on use of force, it didn’t matter how long Ellis was held on his stomach, and officers shouldn’t have kept him in that position.
The expert also testified it would be “dangerous” to call a suspicious person over to their patrol car because it traps officers in the vehicle. Eyewitnesses testified that Ellis appeared to be summoned back to the patrol car before its door swung open and knocked him to the ground.
Prosecutors’ final witness was a private DNA analyst, Teresa Cheromcha. She works for a forensic laboratory in Florida, DNA Labs International, and she has more than 16 years of experience performing DNA analysis.
Cheromcha looked at DNA recovered from the hobble strap used to restrain Ellis and said her findings provided “very strong” support that the man’s DNA was on it.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 12:46 PM.
