A lawyer for one of three Washington police officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis — a 33-year-old Black man who was punched, shocked with a Taser, then put in a chokehold and held face-down as he pleaded for breath — urged jurors Monday to focus on Ellis' drug use and prior arrests.
The opening statement from Casey Arbenz, an attorney representing Tacoma officer Matthew Collins, came seven weeks into the trial, after prosecutors rested their case last Thursday. Collins and Officer Christopher Burbank face second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, while Officer Timothy Rankine is charged with manslaughter in Ellis' death in Tacoma on March 3, 2020.
