Black man was not a threat to Tacoma police charged in his restraint death, eyewitness says at trial

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Eyewitness testimony in the continuance of three Tacoma, Washington, police officers charged with the death of Manuel Ellis has starkly contradicted the picture the officers’ lawyers have painted about how their fatal struggle with the Black man began. Witness Keyon Lowery in Pierce County Superior Court on Tuesday described his reaction to what he saw Tacoma police do as “disbelief,” because based on what he saw, he believed the officers “were in the wrong.” Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of Ellis on March 3, 2020. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter. All have pleaded not guilty.