Trial of Tacoma police officers postponed again. This time one of the defendants is ill
No testimony was heard Thursday afternoon in the trial of three Tacoma police officers accused of killing Manuel Ellis because one of the defendants became ill. The trial will resume Monday.
Brett Purtzer, an attorney for officer Christopher Burbank, told Judge Bryan Chushcoff his client was sick with an unspecified illness. Burbank was also sick Tuesday, and court was canceled for the day.
Chushcoff said state law doesn’t allow criminal trials to proceed without a defendant if they are absent due to a genuine illness.
The trial previously was postponed when jurors became ill.
Officer Burbank and his co-defendants, officers Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine, are charged with first-degree manslaughter for the March 3, 2020 death of Ellis in their custody. 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.
The morning’s testimony concluded with assistant attorneys general Kent Liu beginning to question a toxicologist called by the defense to testify about the level of methamphetamine found in Ellis’ system. Prosecutors’ cross examination is expected to continue Monday.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 2:18 PM.
