THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — An expert in forensic pathology testified on Monday, Oct. 16 in the ongoing trial of three Tacoma, Washington, police officers charged with the death of Manuel Ellis that Ellis likely would have lived if not for the officers’ actions to restrain him.
Dr. Roger Mitchell, former chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C., made the statement Monday and last week affirmed ex-Pierce County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Clark’s ruling that Ellis died by homicide from oxygen deprivation caused by physical restraint, The Seattle Times reported.
Timothy Rankine
Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, on March 3, 2020. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter.
Collins and Burbank were the first officers to engage with Ellis and have said they did so because Ellis, on foot, was hassling people in a car as it passed through an intersection.
All have pleaded not guilty and remain employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave.
Mitchell was questioned by special prosecutor Patty Eakes about medical findings that led him to his conclusion. Key among them, he said, was the presence of acidosis, a condition indicative of insufficient oxygen.
People experiencing low oxygen instinctively seek to breathe, and heavy breathing is the body’s natural cure for acidosis, Mitchell said. Ellis, pressed against the ground by police as he lay on his stomach, couldn’t find a position that allowed him to breathe, Mitchell testified.
Prosecutors previously said Ellis’ last words were “I can’t breathe.”
Defense attorneys have generally argued Ellis died of a methamphetamine overdose.
Collins’ lawyer, Jared Ausserer, later questioned Mitchell about describing himself on social media as “an advocate.” Mitchell, who is Black, said he is an advocate for finding public health…
Read the full article here