After two Washington officers knocked Manuel Ellis to the ground, punched, choked and shot him with a Taser, he said three words: “can't breathe, sir,” a prosecutor told the jury during closing arguments Monday.
A third officer joined in, holding Ellis face down with pressure on his back until he slowly died, said special prosecutor Patty Eakes, who is working for the Washington Attorney General’s office.
Had the officers done what most people would do if someone was struggling to breathe, Ellis would be alive today, Eakes said. "They chose instead to treat him like an animal, in the most dehumanizing position you can imagine," she said.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis' death a homicide and determined he died of hypoxia due to physical restraint.
Two of the Tacoma, Washington officers — Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38 — were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Timothy Rankine, 34, is charged with manslaughter. Their trial is concluding this week after nine weeks of testimony.
Their lawyers are scheduled to give their closing arguments on Tuesday. The defense has said that Ellis was the aggressor and that he attacked the officers with “super-human strength” on March 3, 2020 and eventually died of a drug overdose and a damaged heart.
Witnesse testimony and video presented at the trial suggest otherwise.
Three witnesses said they saw the officers sitting in their patrol car as Ellis approached and walked to the passenger side, engaging in what looked like some sort of conversation.
When Ellis turned to leave, Burbank threw open the door and knocked Ellis to the ground, all three witnesses said. Two of them pulled out their phones and started recording video, parts of which Eakes played for the jury.
Burbank and Collins gave their official statements before they knew there was audio and video of the encounter, Eakes said. They claimed Ellis attacked them violently and relentlessly and didn't say a coherent word.
“But you know that’s not true,” Eakes told the jury. “He did speak after he was pinned to the ground. He said he couldn't breathe, sir, politely and nicely.”
Collins responded by saying, “Shut the expletive up, man,” Eakes said.
When Rankine showed up and pinned Ellis to the ground, even though he was in handcuffs, Ellis said he couldn't breathe three more times.
Rankine responded by saying, “If you're talking to me you can breathe just fine.” After that, they put hobbles on Ellis' ankles and connected them to his handcuffs. He remained in that position as he slowly died, Eakes said.
“If you're in the custody of the police, you're in their care and it's incumbent on the police to take care of you,” Eakes said. Instead, the three officers “chose to treat Mr. Ellis like he was less than human. That's why they face criminal charges.”
The second-degree murder charges filed against Burbank and Collins do not mean they set out to intentionally kill Ellis, she said. The charge is also called “felony murder,” meaning a felony was being committed and someone died. In this case, the prosecution argues the officers committed the felony of unlawful imprisonment or assault.
Eakes told the jury that they don't need to unanimously agree on which felony was committed to find the two officers guilty, only that Ellis died during the commission of a felony. They also have the option of manslaughter, which is the charge Rankine faces.
Eakes was slated to continue her closing argument Tuesday morning.
