In Tacoma, Washington, the process of jury selection is set to commence on Monday for the trial involving three Tacoma police officers charged in connection with the death of Manuel "Manny" Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man.
This tragic incident occurred in March 2020, just two months before the death of George Floyd, and involved Ellis being tackled, punched, stunned with a Taser, and held face down on a sidewalk.
The three officers involved are Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins (both white), who are facing second-degree murder charges, and Timothy Rankine (Asian American), charged with first-degree manslaughter.
All three officers have entered not guilty pleas.
The trial is anticipated to begin with opening statements on October 2nd in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma and is expected to continue four days each week until December.
The sequence of events leading to Ellis's tragic demise began when he purchased a box of doughnuts and some water at a convenience store around 11:21 p.m. that fateful night. He then encountered Burbank and Collins in a patrol car across the street, as outlined in a probable cause statement from the Washington Attorney General's Office.
While officers Burbank and Collins claimed that Ellis attempted to enter a stranger's car and subsequently attacked them when confronted, witnesses tell a different story.
Multiple onlookers recorded the incident on their cell phones, pleading for the officers to stop. One video captured by a witness in a car behind the officers shows Burbank lifting Ellis into the air, slamming him onto the pavement, and striking him with his fist.
Collins joined in by applying weight on Ellis, delivering punches to his head. Meanwhile, Burbank drew his Taser gun and moved closer to Ellis. During this violent encounter, Ellis repeatedly cried, "Can't breathe, sir. Can't breathe." One officer responded with a dismissive remark.
Subsequently, the officers restrained Ellis in a "hog-tie" position, connecting a hobble restraint device to his handcuffs and placing a spit-hood over his head. Tragically, Ellis stopped moving after the hobble was applied, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner attributed Ellis's cause of death to "hypoxia" resulting from physical restraint and classified it as a homicide.
In contrast, the officers' reports claimed Ellis was resisting, necessitating the use of force. Experts hired by the officers attributed his death to methamphetamine use and heart problems, terming it an "accident."
Following initial investigation by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, which later revealed the involvement of sheriff's personnel, Governor Jay Inslee ordered the Washington State Patrol to take over the case.
Charges were eventually filed on May 27, 2021, marking a significant development as it was the first time the attorney general's office charged a law enforcement officer with murder. This followed the removal of the requirement that prosecutors demonstrate an officer acted with malice, as per Initiative 940 approved by voters in 2018.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ellis's family led to a $4 million settlement agreement with the county in 2022.
However, Ellis's sister and mother continue their wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Tacoma.
In another news, a woman who admitted to the murder of her daughter, and leaving her burned remains on a sports field, has received her sentencing. Kristie Haas, aged 31, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder by abuse or neglect and abuse of a corpse in the tragic case of Emma Grace Cole. See detailed story here
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