State of Washington v. Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine

Tacoma, Washington criminal defense lawyer represented Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine who were charged with murder for killing Manuel "Manny” Ellis, who was killed by the Tacoma police officers.



The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled that Ellis, a black man, was murdered.



2.1 Plaintiff Monet Carter-Mixon: Monet Carter-Mixon ("Ms. Carter-Mixon”) is the

Personal Representative of the Estate of Manuel Ellis. She is the decedent's sister

and a resident of Pierce County, Washington. Ms. Carter-Mixon brings this lawsuit

on behalf of the Estate and statutory beneficiaries of Manuel Ellis.



2.2 Plaintiff Marcia Carter: Marcia Carter ("Ms. Carter”) is the mother of Manuel Ellis

and she is a resident of Pierce County, Washington.



2.3 Defendant Christopher Burbank: At all times relevant, Christopher Burbank

("Office Burbank”) was employed as a law enforcement officer by the Tacoma

Police Department and was acting within the course and scope of his employment

with the City of Tacoma and under the color of state law. Officer Burbank's acts

alleged herein were taken for the benefit of the City of Tacoma and his marital

community.



2.4 Defendant Matthew Collins: At all times relevant, Matthew Collins ("Officer

Collins”) was employed as a law enforcement officer by the Tacoma Police

Department and was acting within the course and scope of his employment with

the City of Tacoma and under the color of state law. Officer Collins' acts alleged

herein were taken for the benefit of the City of Tacoma and his marital community.



* * *



2.6 Defendant Masyih Ford: At all times relevant, Masyih Ford ("Officer Ford”) was

employed as a law enforcement officer by the Tacoma Police Department and was

acting within the course and scope of his employment with the City of Tacoma and

under the color of state law. Officer Ford's acts alleged herein was taken for the

benefit of the City of Tacoma and his marital community.



"The officers were accused of unlawfully using deadly force on Ellis, 33, when attempting to arrest him in March 2020 for allegedly "trying to open car doors of occupied vehicles.” Part of the arrest was caught on video by a witness who testified during the trial. Ellis could also be heard crying, "I can't breathe,” on police dispatch audio. "



Ellis was walking home from a 7-Eleven with some donuts and a bottle of water. Ellis was unarmed.



The offices claimed that they were trying to arrest Ellis on March 3, 2020 and he resisted.



Ellis said: "I cannot brezth." He died from respiratory arrest.



4.1 On the evening of March 3, 2020 Manuel Ellis decided to go to his neighborhood

7-Eleven store to get some snacks. He would never make it back home alive.



4.2 At approximately 11:11 p.m., Manuel purchased a box of raspberry doughnuts and

a bottle of water. The clerk who sold the items to him did not observe any odd

behavior by Manuel or any indications that he was under the influence of drugs or

alcohol.



4.3 As Manuel was walking home from the 7-Eleven he was confronted by Officer

Collins and Officer Burbank at the intersection of 96th Street S. and Ainsworth

Avenue S. in Tacoma.



4.4 As confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses, Manuel was not the aggressor and Officers

Collins and Burbank physically assaulted him while his back was turned.



4.5 Officer Burbank initially struck Manuel with the door of his vehicle.



4.6 The Officers then got out of their marked Tacoma Police Department vehicle,

slammed Manuel down, and repeatedly struck him in the face with punches and

elbows.1



4.7 Manuel was unarmed during this incident.



4.8 Officer Collins was armed and outfitted in body armor at the time of the incident.

He had previously served in the United States Army for approximately eight years

and was very experienced in hand to hand combat. In addition to his Army Special

Forces training Officer Collins had extensive training in grappling and martial arts.

1 Part of this initial assault was recorded with a cell phone video by an independent eyewitness

(S.M.) who happened to be driving behind the marked Tacoma Police Department vehicle. The

two cell phone videos recorded by the eyewitness S.M. are publicly available at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06fdr3ey62s.



4.9 Officer Burbank was armed and outfitted in body armor at the time of the incident.

He had previously served in the United States Army for approximately eight years

and was very experienced in hand to hand combat.



4.10 Officer Collins elbowed Manuel in the face multiple times. He decided to use

elbows rather that closed fist punches because he was concerned about breaking his

hands.



4.11 After striking Manuel several times in the face Officer Collins placed him in a

chokehold.2



4.12 As Manuel was being choked, Officer Burbank pointed a X-26 TASER at his chest.



4.13 Manuel put both of his hands up and tried to surrender to the Officers.



4.14 The Officers continued to escalate the incident and Officer Burbank tased Manuel

in the chest. Officer Burbank proceeded to tase Manuel two more times while he

was being restrained.3



4.15 With each shot, the X-26 TASER releases approximately 50,000 volts of electricity

for a period of five seconds. Being tased causes significant pain and can cause

involuntary muscle contractions, defecation, and loss of control of bodily functions.

Further, when pointed at a person, a taser can sometimes appear to be a firearm.



4.16 The pain and fear that Manuel experienced was excruciating as he was repeatedly

tased while being choked.



4.17 Officers Rankine and Ford were the next officers to arrive on scene.

2 Officer Collins has characterized the chokehold as a Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint.

3 Portions of this assault were recorded with a cell phone video by an independent eyewitness

(S.C.) who happened to be approaching the intersection perpendicular to the Tacoma Police

Department vehicle. The cell phone video recorded by the eyewitness S.C. is publicly available at



4.18 After the incident, Officer Rankine reported that when he arrived on scene he

observed a black male subject that was proned out on the ground on his stomach.

Officer Rankine stated, "Officer Burbank was on top of his upper torso, straddling

his upper torso almost like he was riding a horse, with both of his hands pressed

down on his upper body and then I saw Officer Collins try and secure both his legs.”



4.19 Officer Rankine joined in holding Manuel down and restraining him. Manuel was

face down and not resisting as Officer Rankine put his bodyweight on him, Manuel

struggled to breathe. At the time of the incident Officer Rankine weighed

approximately two hundred pounds.



4.20 Manuel was already in handcuffs when Officer Ford helped restrain him on the

ground.



4.21 Manuel cried out, "I can't breathe sir, I can't breathe!”



4.22 One of the Officers responded to Manuel's cries for help by telling him to, "shut

the fuck up!”



4.23 The Officers continued to aggressively restrain Manuel and they put hobbles on his

legs.



4.24 Hobbling is more commonly known as "hogtieing.”4



4.25 As Officer Rankine applied pressure to Manuel's back, a gang of officers helped

hogtie Manuel.



4.26 Deputy Sanders grabbed Manuel's leg and assisted in restraining him.



4 "Hogtie: to fasten someone's hands and feet together, or to fasten all four legs of an animal

together.



Example: He was hogtied like a gutted deer.”



4.27 At least four Officers helped hold Manuel down, physically restrain him, and hogtie

him in the street.



4.28 At least one of the involved Officers described the hobble as resembling a "dog

leash.”



4.29 The Defendant Officers treated Manuel like a dangerous wild animal as opposed to

a human being.



4.30 Even after Manuel was handcuffed and hogtied, Officers Collins, Burbank,

Rankine and Ford continued to place their body weight on Manuel. During that

time, Manuel continued to struggle for life and tried to say that he couldn't breathe.



4.31 Officer Komarovsky also arrived at the scene and used his knees, hands, and

bodyweight to prevent Manuel from moving.



4.32 As Manuel laid on the street beaten, hogtied, handcuffed, and under the crushing

weight of several grown men, Officer Farinas arrived at the scene.



4.33 Officer Farinas observed that Manuel was lying face down in the street, restrained

by handcuffs and a hobble.



4.34 Officer Farinas noted that Manuel had blood on his face and blood was coming

from his mouth.



4.35 Officer Farinas placed a spit mask (a/k/a spit hood, transport hood, or spit sock)

over Manuel's head.



4.36 Manuel was face down on the pavement and restrained when the spit mask was

placed over his head.



4.37 Manuel was not trying to spit on any of the law enforcement officers at the time the

spit mask was put over his head.



4.38 Prior to the application of the spit mask Manuel had said that he could not breathe.



4.39 Despite that fact, none of the individually named Defendants did anything to stop

Officer Farinas from putting a TPD-issued spit mask on Manuel.

4.40 Manuel was bleeding from his face and mouth at the time spit mask was put over

his head.



4.41 The application of the spit mask further inhibited Manuel's ability to breathe.



4.42 The TPD-issued spit mask should have never been used on Manuel.



4.43 The TPD-issued spit mask came with the following warnings:



4.44 The use of the spit mask on Manuel was a proximate cause of his death.



4.45 The spit mask was used as a torture device for a punitive, non-law enforcement

purpose. The spit mask was used to punish, dehumanize, and terrify Manuel.



4.46 Lieutenant Messineo arrived at the scene and reportedly never touched Manuel. He

saw four officers controlling Manuel so "there was nothing for him to do.”



4.47 Lieutenant Messineo would later describe Manuel's movements as "thrashing

around like a fish out of water.”



4.48 Despite that observation Lieutenant Messineo made no effort to assist Manuel.



4.49 Deputy Sanders also made no effort to assist Manuel.



4.50 Several minutes into the assault Manuel went limp and medical assistance was

requested.



4.51 Officer Rankine has significant first aid experience from his time in the Army.



4.52 Officer Rankine did not attempt CPR or any other lifesaving measures while

waiting for Fire/EMS to arrive.



4.53 The Tacoma Fire Department arrived at the scene after Manuel had been

unconscious and unresponsive for several minutes.



4.54 None of the law enforcement officers at the scene made any efforts to remove the

spit mask, handcuffs, or hobbles while waiting for the Fire Department to arrive.

Officers continued to restrain Manuel on the ground even after he had been

rendered unconscious.



4.55 The Defendants did not exhibit any concern for Manuel's safety or well-being.

They did not care whether he lived or died.



4.56 Rather than transport Manuel to the hospital Tacoma firefighters attempted to

provide medical aid at the scene. Their efforts were unsuccessful and Manuel was

pronounced dead at the scene.



4.57 The body of Manuel Ellis was transported to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's

Office for an autopsy.



4.58 Officer Farinas assisted in gathering evidence at the scene and took custody of a

spent TASER cartridge.



4.59 Officer Farinas did so even though he had personally participated in the incident by

putting the spit mask on Manuel.



4.60 Officer Farinas was assigned to be the Critical Incident Liaison Officer (CILO) for

Officer Burbank.



4.61 Officer Farinas should never have been named the CILO because he had personally

participated in the incident by putting the spit mask on Manuel.



4.62 The Pierce County Sheriff's Office took over the initial investigation into Manuel's

death on the morning of March 4, 2020.



4.63 Detective Byron Brockway of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office was one of the

lead officers assigned to the investigation.



4.64 Detective Brockway documented in his report that "Det/Sgt Sanders helped

secure the subject's legs for hobbles.”



4.65 Under the laws of the State of Washington, the investigating agency must conduct

a conflict check prior to initiating an investigation.

4.66 Pierce County was aware or should have been aware that several of its law

enforcement personnel were present while Manuel was being killed, that Deputy

Sanders participated in restraining Manuel, and that its personnel could be liable

for failing to intervene to stop excessive force. As a result, the Pierce County

Sheriff's Office should have immediately recused itself from the Manuel Ellis

investigation.



4.67 Instead, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office launched its sham investigation of this

killing.



4.68 Through its official spokesperson Ed Troyer, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office

distributed several false statements to the public in the weeks following the death

of Manuel Ellis.



4.69 Mr. Troyer told the public that Manuel had not been tased.



4.70 Mr. Troyer told the public that Manuel had not been choked.



4.71 Mr. Troyer's false statements were intended to pacify community outrage and help

conceal the reality of what had happened on March 3, 2020 - that law enforcement

officers with the Tacoma Police Department and Pierce County Sheriff's Office

had unlawfully killed Manuel Ellis.



4.72 Pierce County violated both the spirit and letter of I-940 with its investigation of

this incident.



4.73 In violation of Washington law, Pierce County (a) failed to give weekly press

releases in relation to its investigation, (b) failed to provide the Ellis family with a

liaison that would keep them informed on the status of the investigation, and (3)

failed to appoint any civilian representatives to its investigative team.



4.74 The investigation by Pierce County was negligently conducted and failed to adhere

to established law enforcement standards.



4.75 Pierce County investigators did not try to interview Officer Farinas.



4.76 Pierce County investigators did not try to interview Officer Komarovsky.



4.77 Pierce County investigators did not try to identify or find any independent

eyewitnesses.



4.78 Pierce County investigators did not try to identify the car (or find its driver) which

allegedly drew the initial attention of Officers Collins and Burbank.



4.79 Officer Henry Betts of the Tacoma Police Department informed Pierce County

investigators on March 4, 2020 that the four officers were all invoking their Fifth

Amendment Rights.



4.80 Pierce County investigators did not interview Officers Collins, Burbank, Rankine,

or Ford until several days after the death of Manuel Ellis.



4.81 Pierce County investigators did not video record the interviews, despite the fact that

they had the means easily available to do so.



4.82 The interviews conducted by Pierce County investigators were tainted from the start

because the Pierce County Sheriff's Office was not an independent agency.



4.83 At the time Pierce County investigators interviewed Officers Collins, Burbank,

Rankine, and Ford they knew or should have known that Pierce County could

potentially be held liable for the death of Manuel Ellis.



The City of Tacoma paid the Ellis family $4 million to settle their civil rights claim against the officers and the City.

Not guilty!



See: Monet Carter-Mixon, et al. v. City of Tacoma, et al.