Jury acquits Tacoma police officers charged in Manuel Ellis’ death
Defense attorneys, Judge Chushcoff comment on verdict
Some defense attorneys for the officers and Judge Bryan Chushcoff, who presided over the trial, spoke with news reporters on the second-floor of the County-City Building after the attorneys spoke to jurors about their verdict.
Brett Purtzer and Wayne Fricke, attorneys for Christopher Burbank, said they thought jurors were particularly hung up on Ellis’ cause of death and the credibility of civilian eyewitnesses called by prosecutors.
Fricke said jurors had serious questions about the “disappearance” of Sara McDowell and Seth Cowden’s cell phones after they recorded video of Ellis’ encounter with police.
“To some of them, that was a big deal,” Fricke said.
Burbank was relieved by the acquittal, Fricke said, but the attorney said he would be surprised if he wanted to return to work in law enforcement. Fricke said he thought if any of the officers did, it wouldn’t be with the Tacoma Police Department.
Purtzer said he thought jurors took their job very seriously, and they told him this case was something that changes everyone’s lives.
“For Mr. Ellis and his family, it’s horrible, and it’s horrible for the officers,” Purtzer said. “I think the biggest thing is that there’s no winners in this case. It’s devastating for everybody that’s involved, so it’s time for there to be some healing.”
Collins’ attorney, Casey Arbenz, said the not-guilty verdict was the product of several years of looking at evidence in this case beyond what was shown in cell-phone videos or what was said in witness statements.
“What you saw and what the jury saw is that this really wasn’t a case,” Arbenz said. “Should have never been charged, should have never been brought, and we’re just thrilled that the jury came out not guilty.”
Chushcoff said no matter what jurors’ decision was, it was going to be a tough call, and their verdict would be criticized. He said he was proud of the work the panel had done, but that his feeling had nothing to do with the outcome. It had “everything” to do with them coming to court each day and listening carefully.
“But if the outcome had been something else, I’d feel the same way because these people cared and paid attention and worked hard,” he said.
Asked about accusations that his court rulings had favored the defense, Chushcoff said he tried to make decisions as neutrally as he could. If a ruling struck someone as biased, he said there’s not much he can do about that, and he said he felt that legal analysts would agree there was nothing he did that was particularly biased.
“Everybody’s always upset with the judge no matter what,” Chushcoff said.
People upset with verdict gathering on Hilltop
People upset with the acquittal of three Tacoma police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis were gathering at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South 11th Street on Thursday afternoon.
They were shouting in disbelief and marching in the intersection, according to video shot by News Tribune reporter Puneet Bsanti.
Reporter Craig Sailor said the Sound Transit street car was blocked and left the area. Police were staging nearby, Sailor reported, but were keeping their distance for the moment.
From Sailor’s report:
“Shortly after the the verdict was released, family members and others began to gather beneath the Manny Ellis mural at S. 11th St. and MLK. Seated on the curb was Ellis’ mother, Marcia Carter-Patterson, who other family members attempted to shield from the news media.
After a few minutes, Ellis’ sister Monet Carter-Mixon, grabbed a bullhorn and led the group into the middle of the intersection. She vented her anger at the verdict while dragging construction barriers into the street and telling drivers to turn around.
When a Sound Transit trolley approached the adjacent station, she placed a barrier in front of it. It eventually retreated.
Tacoma police motorcycle units blocked off, intersections in the surrounding streets to keep traffic from entering the area.
Various people took over the bullhorn, including newly elected Tacoma City Council member Jamika Scott. All expressed frustration at the justice system. Several protesters held signs in support of Ellis and his family. A few passersby took issue with the demonstration and got into shouting matches with Carter-Mixon.
Ellis’ mother sat in a car in the middle of the intersection.”
“My brother was murdered,” Carter-Mixon said through a bullhorn at one point after imploring people to come out into the street to protest.
The crowd left not long after.
Sound Transit announced just before 5 p.m. that T-line service “is suspended between Old City Hall Station and St Joseph Station until further notice due to blockage on the tracks. Service will be running between Theater district station and Tacoma Dome on 12 minute headways.Passengers needing to travel between Theater District Station and St. Joseph Station can take Pierce Transit routes 1, 2, 11, 13, 16, 28 and 48. Walking is required to access the available alternative service options.”
Reactions begin to come in to acquittal of Tacoma police
▪ The ACLU of Washington released a statement from Enoka Herat, policing and immigration policy program director, which said in part: “Today’s verdict is devastating and does not result in the accountability the community has demanded and deserves. While no verdict would provide true justice for Manny — as that would mean never being killed in the first place — officers cannot be allowed to act with impunity and kill community members without consequence. Our thoughts are with Manny’s family who have had to be fierce advocates in the face of a system that was not investing time on investigating itself.”
▪ Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier posted at statement on the verdict, which said in part: ”While our system of justice may be imperfect, it is foundational to our democracy and who we are as Americans. The presumption of innocence and a trial by a jury of your peers are critical safeguards in our society. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the jurors. These “ordinary citizens” accepted the responsibility of hearing the evidence, applying the law, and rendering a judgement in one of Pierce County’s most significant trials. They deserve our gratitude for their service.”
▪ Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose office prosecuted the officers, released a statement Thursday: “I want to start by thanking the jury and court staff for their service. I also want to thank the members of my legal team for their extraordinary hard work and dedication. I know the Ellis family is hurting, and my heart goes out to them.”
▪ “This whole process is a joke, it’s not justice. When you have evidence, it’s doesn’t matter. When you have video, it’s doesn’t matter.” — James Watson, who was outside the courthouse when verdict was read.
▪ “I wanna call out judge Bryan Chushcoff by name. The 5th amendment calls for a fair and impartial trial. That didn’t happen here.” — Lyle Quasim, a longtime Tacoma leader and advocate for the Black community.
▪ Washington Coalition For Police Accountability member Po Leapai, whose cousin, Iosia Faletogo, was killed by Seattle police in 2018, was in the courtroom nearly every day of the trial. Leapai shared:
“I attended the trial to support the family of Manny Ellis and show respect for his precious life which was wrongfully taken by police. It’s important to show the courts and law enforcement that we are concerned about their conduct and lack of accountability. Just being in this courtroom is a milestone in the journey to pursue justice for families like mine. When preventable deaths keep happening as a result of police violence, it’s easy to feel hopeless and helpless. Seeing these officers stand trial gave me a sense of hope, but this verdict proves just how far we have to go to hold police accountable for killing our family members.”
Tacoma city leaders to hold news conference
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodwards, City Manager Elizabeth Pauli and Police Chief Avery Moore will hold a news conference at 5 p.m. to discuss the acquittal of three Tacoma police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis.
“The news conference will broadcast live on TV Tacoma or tvtacoma.com, and on the City of Tacoma’s Facebook page,” according to the news release.
On Rainier Connect, TV Tacoma is available within Tacoma city limits and in Pierce County:
▪ On channel 512 in high definition
▪ On channel 12 in standard definition
▪ On channel 21 in standard definition in University Place
On Comcast, TV Tacoma is available:
▪ On channel 321 in high definition within Tacoma city limits and in Pierce County
▪ On channel 12 in standard definition within Tacoma city limits
▪ On channel 21 in Pierce County
Jury acquits officers in Manny Ellis’ death
A Pierce County jury has acquitted three Tacoma police officers who were charged in the death of Manuel Ellis in March 2020.
After a 10-week trial, the jury of seven men and five women on Thursday found the officers not guilty of all charges they faced.
Jurors deliberated for about two days after twice restarting their deliberations because two alternates were brought in to replace jurors removed due to a family emergency and illness.
Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank had been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Officer Timothy Rankine had been charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The jury also did not convict either officer of a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.
After Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff read the verdict, he asked each juror one by one to confirm it was their verdict before thanking them for their service.
“I know you were all paying a great deal of attention, taking notes and working diligently. You knew the importance of this matter,” he said. “You took it seriously and you worked very hard for very little pay and I appreciate it very much.”
Collins, who had been with the department for about five years prior to Ellis’ death, was accused of attacking Ellis, 33, without justification. Trial evidence showed he slammed the man to the ground, struck him with fists or elbows and briefly placed him in a neckhold. He also requested hobbles that were wrapped around Ellis’ legs and attached to handcuffs behind his back, and he stood by while an officer not on trial put a spit hood over Ellis’ head and face while Ellis remained prone on the ground.
Burbank, who had been on the police force for roughly as long as Collins, was accused of punching Ellis and repeatedly stunning him with a Taser. Trial evidence showed he retrieved hobbles that were wrapped around Ellis’ legs and attached to handcuffs behind his back, and Burbank also stood by as Ellis was placed in a spit hood and prone on the ground.
Rankine, a more junior officer with under two years of department experience prior to Ellis’ death, responded as backup minutes after the first interaction between Ellis and officers. Rankine was the only charged officer to testify that he heard Ellis say he couldn’t breathe. He told investigators that he put all of his weight onto Ellis’ back but claimed that he twice moved him to his side so he could breathe better.
Defense attorneys had argued that Ellis, whose last words were, “I can’t breathe,” was combative and died due to chronic drug use.
BACKGROUND
The trial began with opening statements Oct. 3, and prosecutors from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office rested their case Nov. 8. The defense rested Dec. 6.
Ellis, 33, died after a series of officers knelt or sat on his back while the man was bound in handcuffs behind his back that were attached to a hobble on his legs. Ellis told police he couldn’t breathe at least five times, evidence at trial showed. He was also punched in the head several times, slammed to the ground, briefly put in a headlock and shocked with a Taser three times before he was restrained. An officer not on trial put a spit hood over his head.
The trial was the first test of Initiative 940, a new police accountability law adopted in Washington state in 2019. It lowered the bar to charge police officers for on-duty offenses, and it requires officers to provide first aid to people in their custody at the earliest opportunity. The Seattle Times has reported this is just the sixth time in the past century that police have been charged for an on-duty death.
Ellis was walking home from a convenience store the night of his death when he encountered Collins and Burbank in a patrol car at 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue. The officers were reportedly suspicious of him after seeing him try the door of a car passing through the intersection.
During the trial prosecutors and lawyers for the officers offered conflicting testimony about how the encounter turned violent.
Prosecutors argued Collins and Burbank unlawfully contacted Ellis, calling four civilian eyewitnesses who testified that police were the aggressors and that Ellis posed no threat to them. Two, Sara McDowell and Keyon Lowery, said they saw Ellis casually walking away from the police cruiser when he appeared to be called to the passenger door, which swung open and knocked him down. McDowell took cellphone video showing Burbank punching Ellis until Collins, the driver, came around the car, lifted Ellis and slammed him to the ground.
Defense attorneys argued that the interaction started one to two minutes before McDowell started recording when Collins and Burbank claim Ellis ran up to the patrol car, threatened to punch Burbank and then struck the patrol car’s window. In the days after Ellis’ death, Collins told investigators he got out to confront Ellis, and the man threw the officer off his feet and into the street.
However the encounter began, Ellis was beaten, briefly put in a headlock, shocked by Burbank with a Taser and then pressed to the ground on his stomach while the officers took turns sitting or kneeling on his back.
Rankine and his partner responded minutes into the incident and took over control of Ellis’ torso. Rankine later told investigators he put all of his weight on the man’s back. As more law enforcement arrived, Ellis’ handcuffs were connected to a hobble on his legs in a hogtie position, and an officer not on trial put a spit hood over his head.
The restraints weren’t removed until medical personnel from the Tacoma Fire Department arrived at Ellis’ side. At that point, at least nine minutes had passed since Rankine arrived and the hobbles were attached to the handcuffs binding Ellis. Rankine said he twice put Ellis on his side so he could breathe better during that time.
While medics tried to save his life, Ellis went into cardiac arrest and died. The former Pierce County medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Clark, found he died of a form of oxygen deprivation caused by physical restraint.
Over six weeks of testimony for the prosecution, jurors heard from some of Ellis’ family, eyewitnesses, 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.
Defense attorneys argued that none of the officers’ had killed Ellis, and that they had to continue to restrain Ellis even after he said he could not breathe because he continued to resist arrest.
As for Ellis’ cause of death, the defense focused on the high concentration of methamphetamine in his system, 2400 nanograms per milliliter. Clark called it an “extremely high” concentration in his autopsy report, and the attorneys called their own medical expert who said it was her opinion that the meth and Ellis’ enlarged heart caused him to go into heart failure and die.
Testimony from the defense lasted three weeks. The last two witnesses called to the stand were Collins and Rankine, who testified that their actions were responsive to “assaultive” and “resistant” behavior from Ellis. Jurors heard testimony from Rankine’s partner, who said he didn’t see any excessive uses of force. Defense attorneys also called a Renton training sergeant who said all of the officers’ actions were appropriate.
Ellis case and race issues
Cases where Black Americans die while in the custody of white police officers frequently stoke discussion about the role racism plays in interactions between law enforcement and people of color. According to statistics from the Tacoma Police Department, officers used force against Black people at about five times the rate they did against white people between 2015 and 2019.
But issues of race were not allowed to be brought in as evidence in this trial. Two of the officers, Collins and Burbank, are white, and Rankine is Asian American. Rankine’s attorneys specifically argued in pre-trial motions that any evidence showing his alleged actions were “racially motivated” be excluded.
Prosecutors also sought to exclude some issues of race from the trial. They argued pre-trial to not allow witnesses to use “racially coded language” when referring to Ellis or his conduct, specifically asking to exclude use of the word “animalistic.” Collins, Burbank and Rankine have used that word, either in statements to detectives or in testimony, to describe the sounds Ellis made while they were trying to subdue and detain him.
The issue flared up late in the trial when special prosecutor Patty Eakes told jurors in her closing arguments that the officers had treated Ellis like he was “less than human.” Defense attorneys objected, stating that Eakes had violated the court’s order prohibiting lawyers from comparing anyone to animals.
The defense called for a dismissal, but Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff refused to do so. He cautioned Eakes, telling her she was pushing the boundaries. The special prosecutor was similarly chastised when she closed her rebuttal argument by saying Ellis didn’t need to die “if only he had been granted the dignity of being human and being responded to.”
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This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 3:20 PM.
