Partner of Tacoma officer testifies he saw no excessive force used against Manuel Ellis
The partner of one of the Tacoma police officers on trial for the death of Manuel Ellis told jurors Wednesday morning that none of the tactics he saw his partner use appeared excessive.
Officer Masyih Ford responded along with Timothy Rankine the night of March 3, 2020, after hearing mic clicks and a location shout-out from officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, who were the first to encounter Ellis in Tacoma’s South End.
Ford and Rankine arrived minutes after the initial struggle, which involved Collins elbow-striking Ellis in the face repeatedly and briefly putting him in a headlock. Burbank shot him with a series of Taser shocks, and Ellis was pressed to the ground face down with weight on his back until Ford and Rankine arrived. When Rankine got there, he said he put all of his weight on Ellis’ spine, according to previous testimony and investigative reports.
Ford had been partnered with Rankine for about four months before that night. Under direct examination by one of Rankine’s attorneys, Anne Bremner, Ford told jurors that as partners, it was their job to keep each other accountable. If he had seen any excessive use of force, Ford said he would have intervened.
When Ford arrived at the intersection of 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue, he said it looked like Ellis was overpowering Collins and Burbank, inching them further into the street on his stomach while the two officers tried to control him.
“Never seen someone move officers while in handcuffs like that,” Ford said.
Ford tried to control Ellis’ left leg, and he said he had to hold it as tight as he could. He said Ellis was making noises like someone lifting heavy weights, and at one point he heard the man say, “I can’t breathe.”
The officers collectively put Ellis on his side so he could breathe better, Ford said. He then went to the front of Ellis and looked him in the eye, Ford testified, telling him to relax and that fire department medics were on the way. Ford said he didn’t see any response from Ellis.
“It was like he was looking through me,” the officer testified.
Ellis started thrashing on the ground again, Ford said, and Rankine put him back into the prone position. Ford said Ellis was placed on his side at least one more time before medics arrived.
Ford was one of two Tacoma police officers who in 2021 were cleared of any policy violations related to Ellis’ death in custody through a TPD Internal Affairs investigation. Ford was investigated for holding one of Ellis’ legs, and Armando Farinas was scrutinized for placing a spit hood over the man’s head.
Rankine, Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins are charged with first-degree manslaughter for Ellis’ death. Burbank and Collins also face charges of second-degree murder. All three have pleaded not guilty, are free on bail and remain on paid leave from the Police Department.
The death of Ellis, 33, was ruled a homicide in 2020 by the Pierce County medical examiner, and his cause of death was determined to be a form of oxygen deprivation from physical restraint. Lawyers for the officers have instead focused on the methamphetamine in his system and Ellis’ enlarged heart as another explanation for his death.
Wednesday morning’s testimony was delayed by news that one juror had tested positive for COVID-19. Judge Bryan Chushcoff said juror four would be excused, and the trial would proceed. Other jurors will be tested for the coronavirus by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Little is known about juror four, who is a white woman.
The alternate juror who will take her place is a pastor from Graham, a multi-racial woman who prosecutors tried and failed to strike from the jury pool during jury selection.
Chushcoff also spent part of the morning discouraging people from rallying outside the courthouse during trial proceedings, saying such demonstrations weren’t in the interest of justice if the goal was to influence the outcome of the trial. Last Wednesday, about three dozen people gathered outside the County-City Building on Tacoma Avenue South to demand justice for Ellis’ death. Speakers included James Bible, an attorney representing Ellis’ family.
Chushcoff said the courtroom is situated on the same side of the building as Tacoma Avenue, and last week he watched part of the rally from inside. He said if demonstrations continue and jurors hear them, the integrity of the outcome would be affected.
“Everybody here as far as I know wants one thing from this case, which is an absolutely honest outcome, done right the first time,” Chushcoff said.
Prosecutors from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office said they had no information about the rally and they weren’t involved. Wayne Fricke, an attorney for Christopher Burbank, said the rally was trying to influence jurors, and he suggested that Chushcoff make an order disallowing protests on the building’s campus.
Chushcoff said the rally appeared to mostly take place on the public sidewalk, and he didn’t want to create an unnecessary confrontation.
Ford also testified about the difficulties he faced after Ellis’ death. He said people showed up at his house and threatened his spouse and his family. He now sees a mental health professional to help process what he saw the night Ellis died.
“It was an incredibly stressful event for me,” Ford said. “Seeing someone like that is .. you never forget it.”
Ford grew up in Tacoma and graduated from Stadium High School in 2010 before attending Western Washington University. At Stadium, he said Ellis’ mother, Marcia Carter-Patterson, was his counselor, and she was a mentor to him.
The officer is expected to continue testifying Wednesday afternoon.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
