Mistrial looming? Presiding juror in Tacoma police trial says panel having difficulty

The presiding juror in the trial of three Tacoma police officers accused of killing an unarmed Black man told the court Wednesday that the jury could not reach a verdict for at least one of the three defendants.

Answering questions from Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff, the head juror, a gray-haired woman in the front row, said it wasn’t probable that jurors would reach a verdict for all three officers in a reasonable amount of time.

Despite the apparent deadlock on some of the criminal charges, the jury is not entirely hung. Asked if jurors could reach a decision as to any of the officers, the foreperson said yes.

“They have some decision, but they’re hung on some things,” Chushcoff said before the jury panel was called into the courtroom.

The panel of seven men and five women are tasked with deciding whether officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank are guilty of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter for the March 3, 2020, death of Manuel Ellis, whose last words were, “I can’t breathe.” Officer Timothy Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Chushcoff told jurors to return to the jury room just before 2 p.m. They were instructed to complete any verdict forms they can and continue their deliberations.

Almost immediately after the jurors left the courtroom, the court received another question indicating there is one holdout on the panel. Chushcoff said jurors asked, “If there is one juror that is resolute in their decision and will not change their mind, can we conclude?”

Chushcoff told jurors to continue their discussions after he conferred with defense attorneys and prosecutors from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

Deliberations began Thursday morning following a 10-week trial, but the process has twice restarted because two jurors have been temporarily excused. The first was taken off the panel Monday due to a family emergency, and the second left Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19.

The judge said he would seriously consider declaring a mistrial if jurors don’t reach a verdict by the end of Thursday. The court has previously said if jurors don’t reach a verdict by the end of Friday, they will be excused during the week of Christmas and will reconvene Jan. 2.

Ellis, 33, died after a struggle with police where he was beaten and pressed to the street on his stomach. He was restrained in handcuffs behind his back that were connected to a hobble on his ankles while a series of officers put their weight on him.

The former Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation from physical restraint.

Prosecutors have claimed that all three officers heard the man was in distress and should have immediately intervened to render aid, a requirement of Initiative 940, a police accountability law adopted by the state Legislature in 2019. This is the first trial that will test the new law.

Defense attorneys argued during trial that the officers had to continue to restrain Ellis even after he said he could not breathe because he continued to resist arrest.

The officers had reportedly been suspicious of Ellis after seeing him try the door of a vehicle passing through the intersection of 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue. Burbank and Collins later told investigators Ellis came up to their patrol car saying he was having a bad night and had warrants. Ellis was reportedly told to go to the sidewalk, but the officers said he became aggressive, threatened to punch Burbank and then slammed his fists into the officer’s window.

Eyewitnesses called by prosecutors contradicted the officers’ version of events, characterizing the police as the aggressors.

Two of the four the witnesses recorded substantive cell phone video of the officers roughly handling Ellis. They told jurors that Ellis was walking down the sidewalk when he appeared to be called over to a patrol car and Burbank opened his door into him, knocking the man to the ground. They testified that Ellis did not fight back as police subdued him.