Updated as of 10/19/2023 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Keyon Lowery, 26, testified in front of a Pierce County Superior Court jury that Manny Ellis, a Black man killed during an arrest, posed no threat to the officers. His testimony starkly contrasts the dramatic description of Ellis’ alleged “superhuman” aggression the night of the incident.
Lowery was driving behind his girlfriend, Sara McDowell when he said he saw Ellis, per The AP. He said Ellis was walking away from the police cruiser but turned back around in response to the officers calling for him. However, as he approached the vehicle, the car door swung open and Ellis was knocked the ground, Lowery said. Following that, he recalled seeing the officers tackling Ellis to the ground and throwing punches as he drove away. McDowell recalled the same scene:
“The driver officer flicked on his yellow lights, jumped out, ran away the front of the cop car and grabbed Manuel and, like, flipped—body slammed him onto the ground. The passenger officer came from the side, or came, you know, they were all right there. Came, and started punching Manuel in the face over and over again,” she said via KATU.
Well, that’s weird... ain’t the cops say Ellis body slammed one of them? They also said Ellis was under the influence of methamphetamine. However, Lowery testified that Ellis didn’t pose a threat to the officers, leaving him to believe the officers were real aggressors.
What Happened?
There are already discrepancies between what the cops say happened and what witnesses saw happen the night of March 3, 2020.
Manuel “Manny” Ellis, 33, was walking home from 7-Eleven with a box of doughnuts when Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank said he tried to get into a stranger’s car. The cops claimed upon apprehending him, Ellis became aggressive and used “super-human strength” to throw one of the officers onto the ground. However, bystanders said they didn’t see Ellis try to enter anyone’s car or show any combativeness toward the officers.
Ellis suffered a series of punches, kicks and was also tased while being restrained. Officer Timothy Rankine kneeled on his back after he was already handcuffed. Ellis died of a lack of oxygen due to physical restraint and it was revealed he had an enlarged heart from methamphetamine. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Debates Over Video Evidence
Ellis’ sister, Monèt Carter-Mixon, testified that she was left in the dark about what happened to her brother and relied on tips from witnesses and videos on social media to discover what went down that night, per The Seattle Times. In one video, you can hear Ellis saying, “I can’t breathe, sir.”
“You’re really going to want to see the video. The information the cops gave and everywhere is a lie,” Carter-Mixon recalled from an online message.
In the latest trial hearing, lawyers for the officers said the videos have been misinterpreted.
Read more from AP News:
On Wednesday, forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks walked the jury through one of the videos, frame by frame. It shows Collins on the ground behind Ellis with his hands near his neck, and Burbank aiming his Taser at Ellis’ chest. As Ellis holds his hands in the air in a posture indicating surrender, Burbank fires the Taser and Collins puts his arm around Ellis’ neck in a chokehold. Ellis’ head falls to the ground, and he stops moving. On Thursday, attorney Jared Ausserer, representing Collins, said the video shows Ellis did not follow the officers’ repeated commands.
“Collins could be heard saying put your hands behind your back,” Ausserer said. “At no point does he put his hands behind his back.”
Fredericks disagreed. “He put his hand behind his back. The video shows it,” he said.
As they played portions of the video over and over, Ausserer said it appeared that Ellis “dragged” Burbank down to the ground when he shifted his hips, but Fredericks said the video suggests that Burbank simply lost his balance.
Carter-Mixon maintains that the monster her brother was painted as in the courtroom was far from the man she knew.
The three officers are facing first-degree manslaughter charges. Collins and Burbank are facing second-degree murder, additionally. All of them still work for the department and are paid leave upon litigation.