Jury hears testimony in trial of officers charged in Manuel Ellis' death

A sign is displayed on May 27, 2021, at a memorial in Tacoma, Wash., where Manuel"Manny" Ellis died March 3, 2020.Ellis, an unarmed Black man, was restrained by three police officers in Washington state on March 3, 2020, and a medical examiner ruled the cause of death as a homicide.

In 2021, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed felony charges against officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, and Timothy Rankine. Burbank and Collins were charged with second-degree murder and Rankine was charged with first-degree manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty and the defense claimed drugs found in Ellis' system may have contributed to his death instead.

Liu told the jury that eyewitnesses would tell them that someone from the patrol car got Ellis' attention and he walked to the vehicle's passenger side. Those witnesses saw a brief conversation take place, Ellis walking away and the passenger door swinging open, knocking Ellis to the ground, Liu said. Witnesses also saw officers jump out of the car and start attacking Ellis.

"Mr. Ellis, however, had significant medical and physiological issues, including an extreme concentration of methamphetamine in his blood," she continued. "The conditions, combined with his lengthy physical struggle with the officers, led to his demise. Officer Rankine welcomes the opportunity to provide the jurors with the truth surrounding the incident."

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