Jury deliberations began anew on Monday in the trial of three Tacoma police officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis after a juror was relieved due to a family emergency.
After 10 weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated for just a day and a half last week before having to start from scratch on Monday morning. An alternate juror was elevated as a replacement after a regular juror was relieved due to a family emergency.
The jury’s composition remains seven men and five women. The juror who was relieved on Monday was not excused from service, but moved to the alternate pool. That leaves two alternates for the duration of deliberations, in case other jurors need to be replaced.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff and lawyers for the prosecution and defense questioned another juror Monday after he mentioned during deliberations that the officers were on paid leave. That fact had not been presented in testimony, raising concerns that the jury was consuming media reports about the trial.
The juror told the court he had not been reading news coverage throughout the trial, and Chushcoff was satisfied that the juror could remain on the panel.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died March 3, 2020, after telling police repeatedly that he could not breathe while they struggled in a south Tacoma intersection. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide caused by lack of oxygen from physical restraint. Lawyers for the officers have offered the alternative theory that the high level of methamphetamine in Ellis’ system and an enlarged heart caused his death.
Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher “Shane” Burbank are charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. The jury also has the option to convict them of just the lesser included offense of second-degree manslaughter.
Burbank and Collins have said they tried to question Ellis after encountering him at a south Tacoma intersection, but he turned aggressive, triggering a struggle that was recorded in part on cellphone video by two witnesses.
Those witnesses testified that Ellis did nothing to provoke the struggle. Ellis was slammed to the ground, punched, struck with elbows, zapped three times with a Taser, placed in a neck hold, handcuffed with his ankles strapped behind his back to his wrists and fitted with a nylon spit hood over his face while a carousel of officers applied pressured to his back as he lay prone on the pavement.
Ellis was recorded saying he couldn’t breathe at least five times. Burbank and Collins have denied hearing Ellis say that, despite evidence and testimony that called that fact into question.
In statements to detectives and in testimony, the officers described Ellis as extraordinarily strong and said their actions were necessary to gain control of him.
Officer Timothy Rankine, 35, was in the first car to arrive as backup for Collins and Burbank. He testified to sitting on Ellis’ back even after Ellis said he could not breathe. Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter. The jury also has the option to convict him of second-degree manslaughter.
All three officers have pleaded not guilty, are free on bail and remain employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave.
Jurors asked one question of the court on Monday afternoon: Whether Ellis’ arrest made him a participant in the offenses alleged against the officers. Judge Chushcoff directed them to review jury instructions, in particular one that defines “participant.” It states: “The victim of the crime is not a participant in that crime.”
The jury resumes deliberating on Tuesday morning.
