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TACOMA, Wash. - Lawyers for three police officers charged in the death of Manny Ellis on Thursday challenged a forensic video analyst’s interpretation of videos shot by witnesses that show the Black man’s fatal arrest in Tacoma.
Prosecutors also planned to call Ellis’ sister, Monét Carter-Mixon, to testify later Thursday.
Tacoma Police Officer Timothy Rankine, center, listens during his trial for the death of Manny Ellis in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Defense attorney Anne Bremner is on the left of Rankine, and to his right is defense attorney Mark Conrad. At far right is another of the involved officers, Matthew Collins. (Ellen Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff presides over the trial of three Washington officers accused in the death of Manny Ellis in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Ellen Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma Police officer Christopher "Shane'" Burbank attends the trial for the killing of Manny Ellis in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Ellen Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Women embrace as a video is shown during the trial of three Washington officers accused in the death of Manny Ellis in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Ellen Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma Police officers Christopher "Shane" Burbank, left, and Matthew Collins chat before proceedings in their trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Grant Fredericks, right a video forensic expert, testifies what is happening in still images taken from a video of the arrest of Manny Ellis during the trial of Tacoma Police officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine in the killing of Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Defense attorney Jared Ausserer, right, speaks to Tacoma Police officers Matthew Collins, left, and Christopher "Shane" Burbank, center, shortly before their trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma Police officers Matthew Collins, left, and Christopher "Shane" Burbank chat chat before proceedings in their trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma Police officer Timothy Rankine listens during his trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma police officer Matthew Collins listens during his trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Defense attorneys Brett Purtzer, left, and Wayne Fricke, right, confer with their client, Tacoma Police 0fficer Christopher "Shane" Burbank during his trial in the killing of Manny Ellis, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool) Tacoma Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Ellis on March 3, 2020. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty.
Video evidence is key in the case against the officers. The officers say Ellis was violent toward them during the encounter, but witness statements indicate he didn’t fight back.
RELATED: Prosecutors focus on video evidence in trial of Washington officers charged in Manny Ellis' death
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, 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."
RELATED: Jury hears Manny Ellis' last words at trial of Tacoma officers accused in his death
Fredericks disagreed.
"He put his hand behind his back. The video shows it," he said, adding that Burbank grabbed one of Ellis’ arms that was in the air and put it behind his back.
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.
When prosecutors played another video on Wednesday showing Collins holding Ellis on the ground and Ellis screaming as he was shocked with the Taser, sobs could be heard from the side of the courtroom where Ellis’ family and supporters were seated.
They also played video from a doorbell security camera from a home across the street. The camera captures Ellis’s pleas: "Can’t breathe, sir, Can’t breathe."
This is the first trial under a 5-year-old Washington state law designed to make it easier to prosecute police who wrongfully use deadly force.