US jury clears police officers in death of black man Manuel Ellis
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on December 22, 2023
A US jury has cleared three police officers of all criminal charges in the death of a black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained face-down on the street as he pleaded for breath.
Two of the officers – Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38 – had been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while Timothy Rankine, 34, was charged with manslaughter.
Their lawyers argued that Manuel Ellis died from a lethal amount of methamphetamine that was in his system as well as a pre-existing heart condition, not from the officers’ actions . . .
