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May 28, 2021 at 10:17 pm PDT
By KIRO 7 News Staff
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Tacoma officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine pleaded not guilty by video conference from jail Friday after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that the officers were being charged in the death of Manuel Ellis.
Each officer’s bail was set at $100,000, however, Ellis’ family said the bail was not high enough, saying it should have been $1 million.
“It’s very hurtful to know that the judge was willing to give them such a low bail, when I know people who have committed crimes for less who received way higher bails,” Monet Carter-Mixon, Mauel Ellis’ sister said.
The family called the hearing a long-awaited first step toward justice.
The attorneys for the officers had a very different take and argued during the hearing that there should be no bail.
“That’s just ridiculous! If he wasn’t a police officer and if there weren’t TV cameras and if this were not a social issue that wouldn’t happen,” Bryan Hershman, the attorney for officer Rankine said.
The officers were released from jail after voluntarily turning themselves in on Thursday.
Burbank and Collins are being charged with second-degree murder and Rankine with first-degree manslaughter.
Ellis, 33, died on March 3, 2020, after an on-camera confrontation with Tacoma police officers.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide due to a lack of oxygen, and initially said methamphetamine and an enlarged heart may have played a contributing role.
But now the charging documents say after the autopsy, the Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Clark, reviewed additional evidence — such as learning about the weight of an officer on Ellis’ back and heart monitor readings from paramedics — before Ellis died.
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Article URL : https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/attorney-general-3-officers-charged-maunel-ellis-death/GOB6WZUHPREOFLX6LCHJXS26JM/