Judge rules on payment of attorney fees for former Tacoma cops acquitted in Ellis case

Three former Tacoma police officers acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis won’t be reimbursed by Washington state for their defense costs, a Pierce County judge ruled Friday.

Judge Bryan Chushcoff, who presided over Matthew Collins’, Christopher Burbank’s and Timothy Rankine’s 10-week murder and manslaughter trial last year, denied two motions from attorneys representing the former officers.

One, brought by Collins’ attorneys, asked for blanket reimbursement of the legal cost of the defense, which attorneys for the officers have estimated to amount to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. The second, from Rankine’s attorneys, asked that the former officer be paid for work his attorneys undertook to obtain discovery material they alleged prosecutors unlawfully withheld.

During the hearing, Rankine’s attorneys also joined Collins’ and Burbank’s motion for blanket reimbursement. None of the former officers attended the proceeding. Monét Carter-Mixon, Ellis’ sister, sat in the gallery with her husband and children.

The motion for blanket reimbursement comes from RCW 9A.16.046, which states that when a peace officer charged with a crime is found not guilty by reason of justifiable homicide, use of deadly force or by reason of self-defense for actions taken while on duty, the state of Washington will reimburse the defendant for all reasonable costs, including loss of time, legal fees incurred and related expenses.

Jurors in the trial were not asked to make a special finding as to why the officers were found not guilty. Chushcoff said jurors could have agreed with the defense’s claim that Ellis’ death was caused not as a result of the officers’ actions but due to a methamphetamine overdose combined with his underlying health condition of an enlarged heart.

“They could have made it for all kinds of reasons that are not one of the reasons for which compensation is entitled,” Chushcoff said in court.

Collins, Burbank and Rankine each received $500,000 as part of an agreement to resign from the Tacoma Police Department in January, and they collectively were paid more than $1 million while employed on leave for the duration of the criminal case.

Ellis, 33, died after encountering Collins and Burbank while walking home in Tacoma’s South End. He was beaten, shocked with a Taser three times, pressed to the ground on his stomach and had all of his limbs tied behind his back in a hogtie position while officers knelt or sat on him. Rankine responded as backup and reportedly put all of his weight on Ellis, who repeatedly said he could not breathe. The former Pierce County medical examiner found Ellis died of oxygen deprivation from physical restraint.

During trial, defense attorneys for the former officers argued none of their clients’ actions killed Ellis, who went by Manny, and that they had to continue to restrain him even after he said he could not breathe because he continued to resist arrest.

Outside the courtroom, Casey Arbenz, one of Collins’ attorneys, told reporters that the statute at issue is confusing because it can be read to suggest that any police officer accused of a crime while on duty is entitled to fees and costs if he or she is acquitted.

Arbenz said attorneys for the former officers asked that the jury receive instructions on self defense, justifiable use of force and justifiable homicide, but they weren’t given. He said the judge’s ruling then wasn’t totally unexpected.

“My guess is this is probably the end of the litigation in this case,” Arbenz said.