Jury clears 3 Tacoma officers of all charges in 2020 death of Manny Ellis

2024-12-25 23:56:32 source:lotradecoin crypto trading academy category:Markets

Three Washington state police officers were cleared of all charges Thursday in the death of Manuel "Manny" Ellis, a Black man, in 2020.

The jury acquitted Christopher Burbank, 38, and Matthew Collins, 40 of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. The jury also acquitted Timothy Rankine, 34, of manslaughter charges. All three men had pleaded not guilty.

An undated photo of Manuel Ellis, who died in Tacoma police custody on March 3, 2020. KIRO-TV

Lawyers for the three police officers told the jury last week that Ellis' death was the result of drug use, not excessive force that included officers choking and shocking him and holding him facedown.

Wayne Fricke, who represents Burbank, said last week that Ellis was addicted to methamphetamine, and it caused him to be violent, unpredictable, and paranoid.

"This is a situation where he created his own death," Fricke said during closing arguments in the officers' nine-week trial. "It was his behavior that forced the officers to use force against him because he created a situation that required them to act."

Attorney James Bible flanked by the family of Manuel Ellis and members of the Tacoma Action Collective during a press conference on June 9, 2020.  Karen Ducey / Getty Images

Ellis, who repeatedly told the officers, "Can't breathe, sir," died March 3, 2020, nearly three months before George Floyd's death would spark an international outcry against police brutality. 

This was the first trial of officers charged in a suspect's death since voters approved a state measure in 2018 removing a requirement that prosecutors must prove police acted with malice.

    In:
  • Police Officers
S. Dev

S. Dev is a news editor for CBSNews.com.

More:Markets

Recommend

'The Later Daters': Cast, how to stream new Michelle Obama

A new reality dating series produced by former First Lady Michelle Obama sheds light on an often und

Lions are being forced to change the way they hunt. It's all because of a tiny invasive ant, scientists say.

A tiny invasive ant muscled into a Kenyan savannah and sparked such a dramatic transformation in the

Americans don't sleep enough. The long-term effects are dire, especially for Black people

FORT WORTH, Texas ― In every passing person, Tara Robinson saw herself – a potential health crisis w