TACOMA, Wash. — Monet Carter-Mixon, the sister of Manuel Ellis who died in police custody on March 3, 2020, said Friday she’s not confident in the outcome of the trial over his death.
See Carter Mixon’s full interview with KING 5 at the top of this story.
When asked if she believed her family was any closer to getting justice for Ellis, she said, “I’m not sure. I’m not sure, we’ll see. I’d like to think that but given the racist tropes that have been discussed and talked about in court and how my brother is being framed right now, it’s hard for me to think that justice will be served for him.”
The defense for the three officers on trial, Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine, allege that Ellis was high on methamphetamine and fighting against police the night he died. In opening statements Tuesday, Defense Counsel Brett Purtzer claimed Ellis was fighting with “superhuman strength” and threw Collins to the ground.
Carter-Mixon testified Thursday that she recalled her brother being happy and upbeat while speaking on the phone with their mother on that night. A 7-Eleven cashier who sold him a jug of water and a box of donuts around 10 minutes before the confrontation also told investigators that Ellis was acting normally.
The attorney for the Ellis family said that based on the facts, witnesses and videos available in this case, they would expect all three officers to be convicted but that deeper change needs to come in the aftermath of Ellis’ death.
“It’s not just the convictions of these three officers,” said attorney James Bible. “The reality is that there’s a whole system that protected these officers, misled the public and put us all in a place where they violated our trust and not just the trust of this family, but an entire community that gives them power over people’s lives, and at the same time, gives them the power of the pen. And that’s exactly why we need our courts to handle these types of cases in the way that they’re handling it now – but we do have to do something about the amount of deference that these particular officers are getting in this particular case.”
Bible and Carter-Mixon were part of a press conference on Thursday after the court adjourned, calling attention to the way the family has been treated since the trial began. Both reiterated their concerns in an interview with KING 5 Friday morning.
“The experience as a family member of a victim has been far from pleasant,” Carter-Mixon said. “The treatment has been as if not only my brother but also myself and my family were the ones on trial and were the ones that committed a crime.”
Carter-Mixon said the family had been relegated to a small, condensed room meant for breastfeeding, and while she is a breastfeeding mother, said the court did not offer a room more suitable for the family to be in while the trial went on. She also said the family was not given a victim’s advocate or a way to communicate with the court so they could be better accommodated.
Pierce County has not yet responded to KING 5’s request for comment about this specific incident. In a statement, the city of Tacoma said city leaders and staff have “no influence, input, or involvement when it comes to the court case” and wouldn’t provide comment throughout the trial’s duration.
Bible said the family’s treatment is unlike anything he’s ever seen in previous murder cases and was especially shocking considering Carter-Mixon’s efforts to get Ellis’ death investigated in the first place.
“The truth is, we have this case because of people like Monet and activist citizens like the Tacoma Action Collective and the like that actually sought out information and dedicated themselves to the truth,” Bible said.
Carter-Mixon said now that she has been dismissed from the witness stand, she plans to be in court every day.