TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma officers charged in the death of Manuel Ellis bailed out of jail Friday following their first appearance in Superior Court.
The Washington state attorney general's office charged 38-year-old Matthew J. Collins and 35-year-old Christopher Shane Burbank with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Timothy Eugene Rankine, 32, was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Not guilty pleas were entered on behalf of all three at their arraignment, per procedure.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Schwartz set bail at $100,000 for each of them. Jail records show all three, who were arrested and booked Thursday afternoon, were released Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors asked for $1 million bail, noting the severity of the charges and the potential penalty. Special Assistant Attorney General Patty Eakes argued $1 million would be consistent with bail set for similar charges filed in Pierce County.
Among other conditions of release, the court ordered the officers to surrender their passports, not have weapons, restrict travel to the counties contiguous to where they live and not have contact with their co-defendants unless their attorneys are present.
The three officers turned themselves in and were booked into the Pierce County Jail on Thursday. They appeared in court by video from the jail.
Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died March 3, 2020 at 96th Street South and Ainsworth Avenue as police restrained him. Video showed him saying: "Can't breathe, sir, can't breathe." He died from lack of oxygen and his death was ruled a homicide.
He'd been walking home from getting water and doughnuts at a convenience store after playing drums at church.
The charges came after a six-month review and investigation by the attorney general's office.
"The family remains dedicated to achieving some amount of justice in this case," Attorney for the Ellis family, James Bible, told reporters outside the courthouse following the hearing.
"They finally have the opportunity to see these officer-defendants, because that's what they are now, in orange jumpsuits, facing a judge, hearing from a prosecutor," Bible said. "Now that the charges are filed, we must remain resolute in our attempt to make sure that those officer-defendants, those killers are held accountable."
Manuel Ellis' sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, also shared her perspective on the proceedings and expressed concern over the $100,000 bail amounts given to each officer.
"It's very hurtful to know that the judge was willing to give them such a low bail when I know people that have committed crimes for less who have received way higher bails, and none of those were murder charges," Carter-Mixon said.
She also said she wished she had been able to see her brother's killers face to face, not through a video call.
"I thought I'd get to see them in person and really look them in the eye. I did lean over hoping that they made eye contact so that they could see, but I don't know if that will ever be possible," Carter-Mixon said. "There is no forgiveness in my heart for them and what they've done."
Defense attorneys argued the $1 million bail requested by the state was too high. They asked Schwartz to consider releasing their clients on their personal recognizance. They emphasized their clients' ties to the community, their military and law enforcement service, and their lack of criminal history.
Defense attorney Wayne Fricke, representing Burbank, said $1 million was excessive. He told the court his client saw combat in Iraq and was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Outside the allegations against him, the attorney said, "His record is pristine. ... There's never been a hint of him ever doing anything wrong."
Fricke said there was nothing to suggest his client would be a flight risk, intimidate witnesses or commit crimes if he's released.
"He's going to follow the conditions of release," he said.
If the court was not inclined to release his client on his own recognizance, Fricke suggested no more than $50,000 bail.
"It's a serious violent offense, and for that reason there should be some bail set," Schwartz said.
The judge acknowledged the officers' lack of criminal history, ties to the community and that they turned themselves in. In considering the bail amount, he said there wasn't evidence presented Friday morning that the officers were a flight risk, a danger to the community or that they'd interfere with the administration of justice.
He also agreed that their addresses not be made public, as their attorneys requested.
Eakes told the court that Collins has been living in Oregon.
Defense attorney Jared Ausserer said Collins was willing to sign a waiver of extradition and that he's had no incidents during the investigation.
He also noted his client's military and law enforcement record, arguing that he's had law enforcement commendations, including for de-escalating violent situations, and that he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army.
Defense attorney Bryan Hershman, representing Rankine, argued Eakes was wrong about $1 million bail being the norm or consistent for the same or similar charges in Pierce County.
"My client factually sits in a very different position than" Collins and Burbank, he said. "... What happened prior to his arrival he had no knowledge of."
Hershman told the court he had presented a "formidable mitigation packet," assembled in the past 24 hours with many declarations from people who know Rankine.
He said his client told his parents at the age of 13, following 9/11, that he wanted to join the military and went on to be awarded two Purple Hearts.
Hershman said there was "no reason to not release him on personal recognizance. ... This is factually a very different case and a very different defense."
Outside court Hershman told reporters: "I think these gentlemen need to be treated like everybody else. You don't investigate a case for a year, a year and a half, 12, 14 months and issue a bench warrant. Are you kidding me? How about a phone call? That's what happens to my other clients."
The other time that happened to a client, he said, it was also a police officer he was representing in a high publicity case.
"It's just kind of been my experience that this system eats their own, and we definitely treat police officers differently than we do normal defendants," he said.
Charging papers allege Rankine saw Burbank and Collins had Ellis in handcuffs when he arrived at the scene, and that Rankine used his weight to pin Ellis to the ground, putting his knees on Ellis' back.
Hershman said on the night Ellis died Rankine "responded to a high-risk environment, a call-out for high-risk assistance, and very possibly did exactly what he was trained to do."
Asked about whether his client can get a fair trial in Pierce County, Hershman said: "I'm going to be tracking media as best I can and bring a motion to change venue at a later time."
He said he thinks he's only seen that happen twice in Pierce County.
"I feel terrible that somebody died," Hershman said. "I truly do. He's in my prayers. But it doesn't mean you deny my client due process."
Carter-Mixon indicated she didn't initially wish to speak after the hearing, though was motivated to do so by how Hershman had spoken in defense of Rankine.
"I saw the attorney over there and then I thought about what things he was doing and what he had said," Carter-Mixon said. "I don't know if what he is telling is actually believable or honest."
Witnesses cited in charging papers disputed the initial police accounts of what happened the night Ellis died.
The witnesses "remember seeing a peaceful, apparently respectful conversation, with no signs of aggression from Ellis," who tried to walk away, charging papers said.
Police said Burbank and Collins called to Ellis after he tried to grab the door handle of a slow-moving car, that he punched the window of their patrol car and that he used "superhuman strength" to lift Collins and throw him to the ground.
"The civilian witnesses' accounts are corroborated by the video evidence," the charging papers said. "The video depicts Ellis struggling at times against the officers' restraints, but does not show Ellis attempting to strike the officers at any point."
Charging papers give this account of the encounter, which lasted four minutes:
Burbank hit Ellis with his patrol car door, knocking him down, and got on top of him. He lifted Ellis, drove him into the ground and hit him. Collins punched Ellis in the head and put him in a neck restraint, and Burbank used a Taser on him.
The taser was used on Ellis three times in total.
When Rankine arrived he put his knees on Ellis' back.
"If you're talking to me, you can breathe just fine," he told him.
Police hogtied Ellis, and he remained face down for six to nine minutes, which is when firefighters arrived.
Ellis was pronounced dead at the scene.
The autopsy report said a mesh spit mask Officer Armando Farinas allegedly put over Ellis' head was "a significant factor, and possibly the most important factor" in his death, with methamphetamine and heart disease listed as contributing factors.
The medical examiner said he didn't know when he did the autopsy that someone had been on top of Ellis as long as Rankine had.
Burbank, Collins, Rankine, Farinas and Officer Masyih Ford, who also responded, have been on paid administrative leave.
The attorney general's office did not file charges against Farinas or Ford.
The Tacoma Police Department said it will do an internal review of the officers involved.
"This will also include determining the departmental status of the involved officers in accordance with departmental policies and procedures, contractual obligations and following due process," interim Police Chief Mike Ake said in a statement Thursday.
The agency has not said if or when the officers who were not charged will return to work.
Outside court Bible remarked on how the officers were placed on paid administrative leave, something he criticized as a luxury not afforded to everyone.
"They spent their time on paid leave well. Some of them went on vacation, others went to trade school. Those are the city of Tacoma's tax dollars at work, for a group of people that actually took a citizen of Tacoma's life," Bible said.
On the initial reports that said Ellis had died from "excited delirium," Bible said there was a"misrepresentation" of reality by police that had delayed the charging longer than it should have taken in his eyes.
"They lied in their police reports and deceived all of us in such a way that charges almost didn't happen," Bible said. "The misrepresentations of the law enforcement officers and the agencies that supported them was what delayed this so remarkably long."
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(Staff writer Stacia Glenn contributed to this report.)
