TACOMA, Wash. — Manuel Ellis' sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, testified in the trial of three Tacoma police officers accused of causing Ellis' death on March 3, 2020.
Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine all face charges related to Ellis' death. Burbank and Collins are facing second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter charges. Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Carter-Mixon spoke to Ellis' behavior and state of mind leading up to the night he died. Prosecutors hope their testimony will help convince jurors that Ellis was not a threat. Defense attorneys argue that Ellis was high on meth, acting in a threatening manner, and refusing to comply with orders to stop resisting.
Carter-Mixon testified she heard the phone call Ellis made to his mother, Marcia Carter, earlier on March 3, before he died.
”He was trying to get my mom to come to church with him," said Carter-Mixon. "He had just gotten back from revival, it was like a good experience for him. He wanted her to come to church. He had told her that she looked pretty. He sounded really happy and, like, upbeat.”
Carter-Mixon explained to the court that she and her brother were close and they lived together off and on over the years.
Carter-Mixon said she was aware Ellis struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues. However, she said Ellis was helpful around the house and she and her children never felt in danger.
Carter-Mixon said the family was worried his meth addiction may kill him someday and insisted he go to a clean and sober house. She said Ellis was improving in early 2020.
Defense attempts to cast doubt on what time Manuel Ellis, officers arrived at
To begin testimony Thursday, the defense continued their cross-examination of a forensic video expert called by the state. On Wednesday the expert, Grant Fredericks, helped establish a timeline of when both Ellis and the officers arrived at the scene and how quickly the conflict escalated.
On Thursday, the defense counsel worked to cast doubt on when Ellis and two of the officers arrived at the intersection where a confrontation between them took place on March 3, 2020.
Fredericks verified that Ellis made a 7-11 purchase at around 11:10 p.m. that night, and estimated his walk to the intersection of South 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue South, where the confrontation took place, would have taken about 10 minutes. The first video capturing the incident from a doorbell security camera picks up at around 11:21 p.m., where Burbank, Collins and Ellis can already be seen engaged in an altercation - not long after Fredericks estimates Ellis arrived at the scene.
After examining the data from the Taser activation reports, Fredericks concluded that the first time the Taser was deployed was 11:22 p.m. The data reflected that the Taser was activated three times in 53 seconds.
The first defense attorney to cross-examine Fredericks on Thursday made attempts to cast doubt on the certainty around what time both Ellis and officers Collins and Burbank arrived at the intersection.
Per the defense, when the officers pulled up to South 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue South, they saw Ellis in the street attempting to enter a car that was passing by and alleged that Ellis then turned and attacked the patrol car; a version of events that may be difficult to reconcile if Ellis and the officers arrived at the intersection just one minute before the first Taser shot was activated.
Defense counsel noted that the EBT machine Fredericks used to verify what time Ellis made his 7-11 purchase, and seemingly left the convenience store, is not the same machine Ellis would have used on the night of March 3, 2020. The defense also made efforts to cast doubt on Fredericks' estimation of when Collins and Burbanks arrived at the intersection based on a report of when they cleared their previous call.
The defense made a point Thursday to emphasize that there is no video or audio evidence of what happened before doorbell security video caught the officers and Ellis engaged in a conflict at the intersection. Witnesses for the prosecution are expected to say the confrontation began when Ellis was called to the window of the police car and then knocked down by the passenger door as he was walking away. All witnesses told investigators they did not see Ellis strike the officers.
The trial is expected to last between eight and 12 weeks. Jury deliberations are anticipated to begin Dec. 4.
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.