3 police officers acquitted in killing of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A vigil for Manuel Ellis in 2020 in Tacoma, Washington. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images
Three Tacoma police officers have been acquitted in connection with the 2020 killing of Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man who died in police custody and was captured on video saying he couldn't breathe.
Driving the news: A jury in Pierce County, Washington, found officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank not guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Ellis's death, per multiple reports.
- The jury also acquitted Collins and Burbank of first-degree manslaughter, along with another officer, Timothy Rankine, who faced a first-degree manslaughter charge.
Details: The county medical examiner ruled Ellis' death a homicide, and the state attorney general later filed charges.
- But the officers' attorneys argued that Ellis' death was caused by a fatal dose of methamphetamine in his system, which they said stopped his enlarged heart, KNKX reported.
Catch up quick: According to the state's probable cause statement, which cited video and witness statements, the three officers at various points allegedly held Ellis down on the ground with their body weight. State prosecutors said Ellis hadn't been fighting back.
- Ellis had a Taser used on him, and had his hands and legs tied together behind his back, prosecutors said.
- Rankine was accused of continuing to pin Ellis to the ground with his body weight until the fire department arrived and found Ellis unresponsive, state prosecutors said.
- A spit hood was placed over Ellis' head during the encounter.
Why it matters: The trial of the three Tacoma officers was the first test of a new police accountability law in Washington state, which revised an earlier statute that made it almost impossible to charge officers who kill in the line of duty.
- The three officers were the first to go to trial under the 5-year-old law, which, unlike the earlier statute, doesn't require proof of "malice" or "evil intent" to hold officers criminally liable.
What they're saying: The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, which represents families of people killed by police, said in a statement that the "not guilty verdict is further proof the system is broken, failing the very people it should be serving."
- An attorney for Collins, Casey Arbenz, said the jury succeeded at "actually looking into the evidence" and "looking beyond the short snippets of video and witness statements" to reach the verdict, The Seattle Times reported.
- The state attorney general's office said it wouldn't make prosecutors available to the media, per the newspaper.
