Three years after the brutal death of Manuel Ellis, the officers involved must now face a jury.
Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins were charged with second-degree murder, while Officer Timothy Rankine was charged with first-degree manslaughter. It marks the first time the Washington attorney general has charged officers with unlawfully using deadly force.
Collins took the stand Monday to testify in his own defense. He acknowledged the death of Ellis, saying it is, “the worst thing that can happen,” according to ABC News.
“In this case, undoubtedly Manny was in the wrong, but at the end of the day his mother lost a child, his sister lost a brother,” Collins added.
While he lamented the death of Ellis, Collins said that he wouldn’t have done anything differently during the arrest and that he does not recall Ellis calling the officers “sir,” as he was telling them, “I can’t breathe,” according to ABC News.
According to a probable cause statement, Ellis was walking home from a 7-Eleven when he was stopped by Collins and Burbank in their police car. When Ellis started to walk away, both of the officers got out of the car and charged at him.
Both officers allegedly attacked Ellis by slamming him into the pavement and hitting him repeatedly. As Collins put him in a neck restraint, Burbank fired his taser. A doorbell camera from of a nearby home allegedly heard one of the officers telling Ellis, “Shut the f*** up, man.”
Raw footage of the incident taken by witnesses is shown below:
Despite the accounts of witnesses, the officers allege that Ellis threatened to punch Burbank and slammed the car with his hand, according to ABC News.
Rankine allegedly arrived later to provide backup. Prosecutors are accusing him of placing a knee on Ellis’ neck and lower back (sound familiar?).
More from ABC News:
By the time paramedics arrived, Ellis had been struck by fists and elbows, placed in a neck hold, jolted three times with a Taser, handcuffed with ankle hobbles strapped to his wrists behind his back, had a nylon spit hood placed over his face and was knelt or sat on by multiple officers. Collins testified that he never expected Ellis to die on the night they struggled.
Ellis was 33 years old when he died.