TACOMA, Wash. — The defense for three Tacoma police officers on trial for the death of Manuel Ellis presented their first witnesses on Monday morning. They started by calling two witnesses familiar with a 2019 incident where Ellis was arrested while high on meth.
The state fought to have certain witnesses and evidence related to the 2019 incident excluded, saying Ellis' arrest history was not relevant to the events of March 3, 2020; the night Ellis died in Tacoma police custody. Prosecuting Attorney Patty Eakes argued that the defense was seeking to characterize Ellis as aggressive and violent.
"Mr. Ellis is not on trial here," Eakes said.
Three Tacoma police officers are currently on trial for Ellis' death: Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank are charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Officer Timothy Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The defense argues that Ellis, who had 2,400 nanograms per liter of meth in his system on the night he died, was aggressive and violent toward officers, and was the one to instigate the confrontation with police- contradicting eyewitnesses who say they saw Collins and Burbank get out of their patrol car and beat Ellis, seemingly for no reason.
The judge sided with the defense counsel, saying the witnesses and evidence could speak to Ellis' previous behavior while high on meth.
The first witness for the defense was a man named Byron Jones. He formerly worked at a combined A&W-KFC that Ellis allegedly attempted to rob on Sept. 21, 2019.
Jones said he was working at the back of the restaurant that night when he heard his coworker at the front screaming, saying a man was trying to take money out of the register. Jones said he ran to the front of the A&W and helped the relief manager pull a man off the front counter. The man then ran toward the door where he struggled with the relief manager before the man was pushed outside, Jones said.
Jones said he recently learned that the man in question was Manuel Ellis.
The defense then called a Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy, Aaron Wolfe. He was working in the area of Pacific Avenue South when he got called to respond to a strongarm robbery at the fast food location.
He and his partner were notified that the suspect had fled the scene. They then spotted Ellis running down Pacific Avenue. Wolfe said he and his partner got out of their vehicle and instructed Ellis to get on the ground. Ellis complied, before getting up and running in Wolfe's direction, the deputy recalled. Ellis complied again, before once again getting up and running toward deputies. Wolfe's fellow deputy tased Ellis, who then fell to the ground. Multiple deputies jumped on Ellis' back to get him in handcuffs. Wolfe said Ellis was tased one more time before deputies successfully restrained him and he was taken to the hospital.
Gabriel Bol with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department also responded to the scene in 2019. He said he used his Taser on Ellis twice, applying it for 5 seconds each time.
Bol said during that incident, Ellis appeared fidgety. Bol said Ellis squirmed around and it took at least two deputies to detain him.
Ellis, according to Bol, said he was high on meth and marijuana.
After his interaction with police during the incident in 2019, Ellis was taken to the hospital.
Hospital interaction in 2019
Cody Pollock was the emergency room technician at the time and was responsible for cleaning Ellis' wounds. Ellis had several lacerations that required stitches.
Based on medical records, Pollock said Ellis was given two doses of Ativan - sometimes used to treat anxiety - that night.
Pollock said that before he cleaned Ellis' wounds, his notes indicate Ellis "postured" at him and clenched his fists. He was given another dose of Ativan. It was unusual behavior, he told the defense on Monday.
However, notes read by Pollock indicate Ellis had been cooperative while being transported to the hospital.
According to doctor's notes read by Pollock, Ellis was instructed to, among other things, stop using meth.
Ellis was charged with attempted robbery related to the incident but died before his case went to trial.
Conditions of release
On Monday afternoon, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Gregory Greer was called to the stand to discuss the incident in 2019.
During his testimony, Greer said Ellis' conditions of released were modified so he could seek treatment under a program setup for people who qualify.
Though he was released on personal recognizance, defense attorneys pointed out his conditions of release would still include abiding by the law, which Greer agreed.
There was a trial date for the 2019 incident set for April of 2020. Conditions of release were still in effect during the incident that resulted in Ellis' death on March 3, 2020, defense attorneys pointed out.
State prosecutors argued that Ellis wouldn't have necessarily been incarcerated if he violated conditions of his release and that Greer didn't handle his arraignment.
Substance use abuse professional
Before recessing for the day, substance use disorder professional Laura Fonda with Pierce County Alliance testified.
Fonda had done an assessment of Ellis in November of 2019 during which he told her about issues with mental health and drug use.
Ellis told Fonda that he was taking Seroquel, and antipsychotic medication, that he said was mildly effective. Fonda pointed out to the court it can take a while for medications to fully work.
Fonda recalled Ellis told her he heard voices, but it was something he could cope with. That began in early adulthood, which drug use exacerbated, she said Ellis told her.
Ellis was not court ordered to go to Pierce County Alliance and Fonda said that, based on what Ellis told her, he was trying to turn his life around.
'He's excited to talk to you'
Defense attorney for Officer Collins, Casey Arbenz, gave his opening statement Monday morning that they had elected to reserve instead of delivering at the beginning of the trial.
Arbenz quickly signaled to the jury that the defense plans to revisit not just the 2019 incident, but an incident in 2015 where Ellis was also arrested while high on meth, noting Ellis was tased during both incidents and that officers reported he resisted heavily.
"He had no quit in him," Arbenz said.
The defense plans to draw parallels for the jury between those two incidents and the night of March 3, 2020, to argue that the officers were justified in their use of force against Ellis, and should not be held criminally liable. During the state's case, they presented evidence to the jury that the officers had no legal basis for instigating the confrontation with Ellis, and called multiple medical experts to link the use of force and restraint methods by officers directly to Ellis' death.
Arbenz also told the jury about Collins' background, noting that he was in the military for eight years before joining the Tacoma police department in 2015. Arbenz said Collins was looking forward to telling the jury what happened himself.
"He's excited to talk to you," Arbenz said.
Arbenz noted the defense planned to call their own medical experts and use of force experts to prove their case, who will inevitably contradict what was said earlier by experts called on behalf of the state.
"We're going to ask that you evaluate Officer Collins, you take into account his 13 years of service to our country, and to our city," Arbenz said to the jury. "And we're going to ask that just the way he's fought for you, you fight for him."
Background on the case
On March 3, 2020, Ellis was walking home when he stopped to speak with Tacoma Police Officers Burbank and Collins, who were in their patrol car, according to probable cause documents.
Witnesses said Ellis turned to walk away, but the officers got out of their car and knocked Ellis to his knees. All witnesses told investigators they did not see Ellis strike the officers.
Other responding officers told investigators that Burbank and Collins reported Ellis was “goin’ after a car” in the intersection and punched the patrol car's windows.
Witness video shows officers repeatedly hitting Ellis. Collins put Ellis into a neck restraint, and Burbank tasered Ellis’ chest, according to prosecutors.
Home security camera footage captured Ellis saying, “Can’t breathe, sir. Can’t breathe."
Rankine, who was the first backup officer to arrive, applied pressure to Ellis' back and held him in place while Ellis was "hogtied" with a hobble, according to documents.
When the fire department arrived, Ellis was “unconscious and unresponsive,” according to documents.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis' death a homicide. According to the autopsy report, Ellis also had a fatal amount of methamphetamine in his system.
KING 5 will stream gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial from opening to closing statements. Follow live coverage and watch videos on demand on king5.com, KING 5+ and the KING 5 YouTube channel.