TACOMA, Wash. — On Thursday, a forensic toxicologist with the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Lab appeared on the witness stand to talk about how much meth was in Manuel Ellis’ system on the night that he died and how it may have impacted him.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died in Tacoma police custody on the night of March 3, 2020, after a confrontation with officers. Three Tacoma police officers, Matthew Collins, Christopher Burbank and Timothy Rankine, are charged in his death.
Thursday's afternoon session of court was canceled because officer Burbank is sick and was not present in the courtroom. Court was also canceled on Tuesday due to Burbank's illness. Court resumes Monday, Dec. 4.
The former Pierce County medical examiner determined that the constellation of restraint methods police used against Ellis was the cause of his death. The defense is attempting to prove a different theory in front of the jury: that a toxic amount of methamphetamine found in Ellis' system at the time of his death is truly to blame.
Results from a lab contracted out by the Washington State Patrol (WSP) showed that Ellis had 2,400 nanoliters per milliliter of meth in his system when his blood was drawn postmortem. The questions being argued over by the state and defense counselors center around how much methamphetamine affected Ellis’ behavior and how big of a role it played in causing his death.
Ellis struggled against a lengthy methamphetamine addiction, however, in the months before he died, friends and loved ones recounted his encouraging progress toward recovery and the steps that he was taking toward a better life.
Ellis was reportedly three months clean before he relapsed on the night of his death. The defense argues that period of time would have wiped out his tolerance to the substance, putting him at risk of a lethal overdose despite years of habitual use.
Asa Louis, forensic toxicologist with WSP, spoke to the jury during the morning session about tolerance, the potential impacts of a toxic meth dose and the limits of what it is possible to tell from the concentration of a particular substance in someone’s blood.
Defense attorney Mark Conrad resumed direct examination on Thursday by asking Louis about the symptoms someone may exhibit when they consume higher than therapeutic levels of methamphetamine. He said someone could expect to feel the toxic impacts of meth at a dose of 1,000 nanograms per milliliter.
Louis said people on large doses of meth often lose their ability to focus on specific tasks and also have difficulty assessing risk because they are unable to properly assess and prioritize information about their surroundings.
Louis described how neural pathways in the brain fire whenever someone initiates an action. When on a substance like meth, those neural pathways can become hyperactive.
“When an individual has stimulants on board, that pathway becomes overexaggerated,” he said. “So instead of firing one unit, the brain will release 10 and everything will be exaggerated.”
Louis said it’s also typical for people high on methamphetamine to experience an elevated heart rate and body temperature and for the substance to potentially exacerbate symptoms related to mental illness.
Conrad then moved to ask Louis a hypothetical question about what he would expect if someone who had been off meth for two to three months would react if they took a dose equivalent to 2,400 nanograms per milliliter. After a lengthy objection by the state, Louis was allowed to go into a detailed explanation of how tolerance to particular substances is built and also how that tolerance can wane over time. He said in that hypothetical scenario, he would expect that person to experience toxic, if not lethal side effects from that dose.
The toxicology results from Ellis’ blood test revealed that alongside meth, he had a concentration of 54 nanograms of amphetamine in his system, which is the substance produced when methamphetamine is metabolized. Louis said those levels are consistent with the theory that Ellis had consumed the substance a short time before his death.
The state had previously sought to call a witness to the stand who would have testified that Ellis actually relapsed three days before his death in an attempt to suggest he did have some tolerance to the drug on the night he died.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Kent Liu brought up a Traffic Safety Fact Sheet issued by the WSP and co-authored by someone in Louis’ chain of command which cited typical recreational levels of methamphetamine to be within 0.01 to 2.5 milligrams per liter – 2.5 milligrams is equivalent to 2,500 nanograms. Louis said he was familiar with those figures.
Louis acknowledged it is not possible to tell from someone’s blood concentration how that substance impacted their behavior, acknowledging they could be walking around, talking and otherwise acting normally. He also agreed that, to an extent, everyone metabolizes methamphetamine differently and that the level of meth that is toxic would also depend on the person. Louis agreed that no one level of meth definitively causes death every time.
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.