Reflections from the Courtroom

In Tacoma, the trial of Officers Burbank, Collins, and Rankine is drawing to a close. During the trial, many community members have been in the courtroom who are hoping for justice, including members of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA), whose reflections are below.

We have spent countless hours in Courtroom 323 at Pierce County Superior Court where we listened to eyewitnesses and experts, watched and rewatched video clips, and observed the judge and attorneys. This trial breaks ground as the first time in decades that any police officer has been criminally tried for the death of a community member in Washington. Yet, throughout the trial we have been reminded of how much the system is designed to uphold the status quo. 

The historic trial, where three Tacoma Police Department officers are charged with the March 3, 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, began in mid-September of this year. During the weeks in court, we have seen camaraderie and easy relationships between the judge and the defense attorneys, seeming misogyny from the judge, and a relentless focus on the victim’s life, his medical background, and criminal history. Normalization of violence was ever present, with the officers who beat, tased, choked, and asphyxiated Mr. Ellis walking past us at each break.

In contrast, the Tacoma officers’ training, prior misconduct, and coverup of this crime was all off limits in this trial. Not even the neighborhood where Mr. Ellis was killed was given a pass. It was held up as crime-ridden, dangerous, a ghetto. All of this has been harmful to those who knew and loved Mr. Ellis, to the community, and to the credibility of this process. 

There were different sets of rules for different groups in the courtroom. When particularly egregious statements (such as Defense Attorney Brett Purtzer saying “Mr. Ellis caused his own death by resisting arrest” or Judge Chushcoff suggesting that Ellis saying “I can’t breathe” might have been a ruse) evoked gasps from the gallery, the defense asked that the Judge admonish the public observers. Yet, fist bumps between police officers attending the trial went unchallenged as did laughter from the “prayer warriors” who organized on behalf of the defendants. The judge and the defense regularly joked and laughed when nothing in the trial was ever funny, at all.

Our motivation for sitting in the courtroom is grounded in providing witness—to see, hear, and be present for the gravity of the trial and for the life of Manuel Ellis. This opportunity for criminal accountability is a door opening in Washington state, and witnessing that is important. Some of the attendees have lost loved ones to police violence and the trial has special meaning to them and is grueling.

Attending the trial has been important to Marilyn Covarrubias, whose son Daniel was killed in 2015 by Lakewood Police. “I attend to support the family and have a hope that justice will be given, even though I doubt the system as it stands. For me [the trial] is a lonely place to be,” says Marilyn.

Po Leapai has been there almost daily. Po’s cousin Iosia Faletogo was killed by Seattle Police on New Year’s Eve 2018, weeks after I-940 became law. Po says that he attends so that “the family is supported by our presence and doesn’t have to shoulder this alone.” He adds, “The system hasn’t been good to Black and Brown people, and this trial shows that little has changed.”

Observing the banter between law enforcement, the lack of respect, and casual discussions of violence is disturbing to Victoria Mena, who hardly missed a day of the trial. Victoria says, “The ongoing disrespect to Mr. Ellis, who is the victim, has been the most disturbing aspect of this trial, and there were plenty of disturbing aspects.  We heard the Medical Examiner, in hindsight, questioning statements provided by law enforcement over the years. That’s another reason for a full investigation into the Tacoma Police Department.”

Victoria says that what matters to her is “being there in person to have a presence, so the Judge knows that he is being watched and that we care deeply about justice.”