TACOMA, Wash. — A second Tacoma police officer charged in the death of Manuel Ellis appeared on the witness stand testifying in his own defense on Tuesday.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died after a confrontation with officers, including officer Timothy Rankine.
Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank are charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter.
Rankine, by his own admission, applied his weight to Ellis’ back while Ellis was lying handcuffed, faced down on the ground. Rankine and other officers said they were attempting to stop Ellis from thrashing around, and that they feared he was trying to get up.
Multiple medical experts who testified on behalf of the state determined that the weight applied to Ellis’ back, in concert with the other restraint methods used against Ellis by police, restricted Ellis’ oxygen intake to the point where his heart failed.
Rankine’s defense attempted to lay the groundwork for the argument that the actions he took to restrain Ellis were justified, and furthermore, that they did not contribute to Ellis’ death.
Attorney Mark Conrad began his line of questioning about that night by asking about mic clicks that Rankine and his partner Masyih Ford heard go out over police radio shortly after checking on Collins and Burbank at a traffic stop in the area of South 96th Street and A Street.
Rankine described a mic click as a person accidentally hitting or bumping their microphone which causes the sound to go out over police radio. He noted most mic clicks are accidental, and the officer will come on radio shortly after to say so.
Rankine said he heard three mic clicks come from Burbank and Collins’ car, and then dispatch come over the radio asking for a response from the pair, but there was none. There were another three to four mic clicks before dispatch asked again for a response, and once again there was none. Then, Rankine heard Burbank’s voice over the radio screaming out their location, 96th and Ainsworth.
Rankine echoed a statement he gave to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department about that night, saying he had never heard Burbank scream like that before.
“Officer Ford and I, we thought the worst,” Rankine said.
'If you can talk to me, you can breathe'
On Tuesday afternoon, Conrad asked Rankine to demonstrate on him the position he took when applying weight on Ellis the night of his death.
Rankine, who was in physical contact with Ellis from the time he arrived on scene to when firefighters arrived to treat Ellis, also showed the positions of officers Collins and Burbank in relation to his own position.
Rankine described seeing Collins and Burbank struggle against Ellis once he and his partner arrived at the scene. He said Collins was struggling to hold Ellis’ legs, which he claimed were kicking, while Burbank was seated on Ellis’ buttocks area and pressing his hands into Ellis’ back. Rankine said Ellis was thrashing on the ground.
Rankine said at one point, Ellis bucked Burbank from off his back and Burbank rolled away from the scene. Rankine said he was surprised that Ellis displayed that kind of strength. Medical experts testifying for the state contended that Ellis may have been struggling to get the weight off his back in order to expand his chest cavity so he could breathe properly.
As the struggle continued, Ellis said he put his right leg on Ellis’ right shoulder. Rankine disputed where one of his knees was placed on Ellis and if it was near the back of his neck. “I’m not trying to hurt Mr. Ellis, I’m just trying to control," he said.
Around this time is when Rankine claims Ellis was thrashing “violently,” then he “turned his head to his left and he said, ‘I can’t breathe’ but in a very calm, like everyday kind of conversation voice,” Rankine said.
Rankine said he was confused who said it and when he heard it the second time, he registered that it was Ellis. Rankine said he replied to Ellis the second time by saying, “If you can talk to me, you can breathe. But if you stop struggling and you calm down, I’ll relieve some pressure off of you.”
He testified that Collins asked him for hobbles when he arrived, but that he does not know who placed the hobbles on Ellis, or who put a spit hood on Ellis’ head.
When Ellis was placed back into the recovery position, Rankine said Ellis was making a low growl, but wasn’t thrashing around or talking.
“I wish I could’ve just kept him in the recovery position the first time because, if I was able to, then I probably would’ve done a pulse check on him,” he said. Rankine took Ellis’ pulse the second time he was placed in the recovery position, which was approximately 80 beats per minute, Rankine said.
Conrad asked Rankine how has this case affected him, to which he said it “completely changed my life,” but he did not explain further.
“This whole incident is tragic,” he said. “I don’t think any of us here thought [Ellis] was going to die that night.”
Rankine says he can't recall key details about other officers
Prosecuting Attorney Patty Eakes cross-examined Rankine, during which he struggled to remember details and walked back on statements provided to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department just days after the incident. Rankine agreed on Tuesday that his memory of the events was most fresh in the days after the incident.
Several times during the afternoon, Rankine said he could not remember specific details about officers Collins and Burbank on scene and their involvement with Ellis. However, Rankine said he and Burbank "made a plan" to hold Ellis down by each taking to a side of his body.
Rankine listened to audio recordings on a home security video from that night where Ellis is heard saying, “I can’t breathe.” In court on Tuesday, Rankine said he could not hear nor make out what was being said in the recording. He said the voice he heard on the recording is not the same tone he recalls hearing Ellis speak when restrained.
Rankine said at this point in time, he put one knee on Ellis’ lower back and the other knee between Ellis’ shoulder blades. In his interview with PCSD, he said he put “all his weight” on Ellis, but on the witness stand walked that statement back, saying he had multiple points of contact with the ground.
The length of time that Rankine had his weight applied to Ellis' back and the length of time that Ellis was in the recovery position is also on issue.
When questioned, Rankine said he never followed up with Ellis to ask if he could breathe and that he never informed the other officers or medics who later arrived on scene that Ellis said he couldn't breathe.
Estimates have varied that Rankine applied his weight to Ellis’ back anywhere from four to six minutes. Medical experts testifying on behalf of the state said having that weight applied for just over four minutes would have been enough to cause Ellis’ death.
Back in 2018, the state’s police academy sent a memo to the Tacoma Police Department about a training exercise Rankine was involved in. The exercise had Rankine responding to a wellness check at a park, and the goal was to practice non-lethal force. Instead, Rankine shot the virtual suspect, and his trainer said Rankine’s mental state deteriorated soon afterward.
Court records also show Rankine’s actions led to two civil lawsuits against the city of Tacoma, alleging excessive force. However, the judge ruled that this information couldn’t be brought to the jury, because it could prejudice the jury against the defendants.
Rankine's testimony continues Wednesday morning.
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.