TACOMA, Wash. — Lawyers for three Washington state police officers charged in the 2020 death of a Black man told the jury Tuesday that his death was the result of drug use and not excessive force, in which officers choked, shocked and forced him face down. kept down.
Manuel Ellis was addicted to methamphetamine, and it caused him to become violent, unpredictable and paranoid, said Wayne Fricke, who represents Tacoma Police Officer Christopher Burbank.
“This is a situation where he caused his own death,” Fricke said during closing arguments in the officers' nine-week murder and manslaughter trial. “It was his behavior that forced the officers to use force against him because he created a situation where they had to act.”
Fricke's comments followed closing arguments from Special Prosecutor Patty Eakes, who urged the jury to compare the officers' statements to videos and witness statements to determine the officers' credibility. Eakes is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Washington Attorney General's office.
Ellis, who repeatedly told officers, “Can't breathe, sir,” died on March 3, 2020, nearly three months before George Floyd's death would spark an international outcry against police brutality. This is the first trial of officers charged in the death of a suspect since voters approved a measure in 2018 that removed the requirement that prosecutors prove police acted with malice.
Two of the officers from Tacoma, Washington – Burbank, 38, and Matthew Collins, 40 – were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Timothy Rankine, 34, is charged with manslaughter.
Collins' attorney, Jared Ausserer, also delivered his closing arguments Tuesday. Rankine's attorney was expected to do so on Wednesday. The prosecutor will then have one more chance to address the jury before it begins deliberations.
Eakes played audio clips of the officers' statements and compared them to video footage and witness statements to show that they contradicted each other.
Collins testified that Ellis grabbed him by the vest, lifted him off his feet and threw him into the street like a child, despite the fact that he weighs about 230 pounds (104 kilograms) with his gear on, Eakes said.
But none of the witnesses saw that happen and it's not on the videos, she said.
“Is it even believable?” Eakes asked. 'I suggest that is not the case. This isn't a comic book.'
Collins also claimed that as he held Ellis down, he feared he would be the only one trying to control the suspect because he could not see Burbank nearby. But Eakes played a video and showed screenshots that clearly showed Burbank standing directly in front of Collins the entire time.
Burbank made similar claims in his statement to investigators. He said Ellis hit him in the mouth with “wild blows” and claimed Ellis was “offensive” the entire time.
But the videos show that Ellis' legs never moved as he lay on the ground, with Collins on his back, putting him in a chokehold. They also show his hands in the air, with his palms in “a surrender-type position,” Eakes said.
The officers' statements were contradicted by six witnesses, she said.
“They make Mr. Ellis violent in ways you don't see on the video,” Eakes said. “Why? They justify the use of violence that you can see happening in that video. Do you trust the video? Do you trust what the eyewitnesses say?”
Attorneys for the officers said the videos and witnesses are flawed and that the officers acted appropriately.
Witness Sara McDowell, who used her phone to record the first part of the incident, can be heard on the video shouting, “Just arrest him, just arrest him,” Fricke said.
“If there's nothing to arrest him for, why did she say, 'Just arrest him?'” Fricke asked. “They knew something happened before this video aired. And once he started resisting arrest, the officers had every tool in their power to make an arrest. When he started fighting that arrest, he resisted arrest. They have a duty to get him under control and that's what they tried to do.”
Burbank did what he was trained to do and what the facts required of him, Fricke said.
“Nobody wanted him to die, but he ended up dying, and that's sad,” Fricke said. “We will not compound this tragedy by convicting innocent people of these charges.”
In his closing arguments, Collins' attorney, Ausserer, urged the jury to question the credibility of the witnesses, including McDowell, who shot one of the videos.
“If she was so upset, why did she wait three months to come forward?” he asked. He also questioned why the two phones on which the videos were recorded stopped working after the phone owners met with the family's lawyer.
The officers cannot be found guilty of murder if no crime was committed by them, Ausserer said. They made a lawful arrest because Ellis committed an assault when he punched the patrol car window and resisted arrest, he added.
“If there was probable cause, there's no crime and we're done,” Ausserer said. “The tragedy of his death does not make Officer Collins' actions criminal.”