By Patrick Malone
The Seattle Times
TACOMA, Wash. 鈥� A medic from the Tacoma Fire Department who responded to the scene on the night Manuel Ellis died testified Tuesday afternoon in the trial of three Tacoma police officers charged in Ellis鈥� death that he disagrees with the cause of death declared by a medical examiner.
鈥淢y belief is that this was an excited delirium event,鈥� Lt. Nicholas Wilson testified.
Excited delirium is a term embraced by law enforcement to describe subjects acting erratically, usually suspected of using drugs, who have been described to possess superhuman strength and immunity to physical pain. It鈥檚 a controversial term that has served as a catchall to explain deaths in police custody in lieu of other explanations.
Major medical and psychiatric associations have rejected excited delirium as invalid, and the state of California now refuses to recognize it as an explanation for deaths.
Ellis, 33, died March 3, 2020, after repeatedly telling police he couldn鈥檛 breathe while they applied force. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis鈥� death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation from physical restraint. Lawyers for the officers contend that the high level of methamphetamine found in Ellis鈥� system, combined with a heart condition, killed Ellis.
Officers Matthew Collins, 40, Christopher 鈥淪hane鈥� Burbank, 38, and Timothy Rankine, 34, are charged with first-degree manslaughter. Collins and Burbank, the first to encounter Ellis, face additional charges of second-degree murder. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges, are free on bail and remain employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave.
Collins and Burbank told detectives that Ellis initiated the aggression when they contacted him after seeing Ellis possibly trying to enter a car as it passed through an intersection. Four eyewitnesses have testified that the officers were the aggressors and Ellis did nothing to provoke them.
Wilson testified that he arrived at the intersection where police had subdued Ellis to find Ellis lying on his back or side with the consciousness level 鈥渙f a rock.鈥� At least one officer was holding Ellis from behind, and he was handcuffed with a strap looping the cuffs to his ankles.
Tacoma police officers at the scene told Wilson that Ellis had been acting aggressively and appeared to be experiencing excited delirium, Wilson testified. He said medics give great weight to what police tell them at scenes they respond to, and that night was no exception. Wilson denied personally knowing any of the officers on trial, but he acknowledged the 鈥渃lose working relationship鈥� that exists between Tacoma police and Tacoma fire personnel. 鈥淭hey protect us,鈥� he said.
Wilson said he recognized on sight that Ellis was in severe respiratory distress. "[Police] expressed some concern for safety,鈥� Wilson testified. 鈥淲e assured them that was no longer an issue, and we began to render care.鈥� Soon, Ellis lapsed into cardiac arrest.
Medics used an oxygen-rich ventilator, tried CPR with the help of police, tried a defibrillator and administered lifesaving pharmaceuticals but were unable to save Ellis.
While major medical organizations reject the concept of excited delirium, Pierce County and Tacoma鈥檚 government still embrace it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 in our texts,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in our training. It鈥檚 in our protocol in the county.鈥�
Wilson testified he鈥檚 seen excited delirium firsthand.
鈥淚 have seen excited delirium in the past,鈥� said Wilson, who has 20 years experience as a medic. 鈥淭hese acute, agitated states are not uncommon, with the amount of drug use individuals are consuming now, and they don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e consuming. We see people [overdose] at work every day now.鈥�
Under questioning from Special Prosecutor Patty Eakes, Wilson said the statements from police on scene were valuable and informed his opinion that Ellis died from a heart attack caused by excited delirium. Without the officers鈥� account, Wilson said he would be providing medical intervention with 鈥渋ncomplete information.鈥�
However, Wilson testified that none of the law enforcement personnel on scene ever informed him that multiple officers had sat and pressed on Ellis鈥� back during the struggle.
As Eakes pressed further, Wilson acknowledged that determining causes of death is not part of his job.
Last week, Dr. Roger Mitchell, former chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C., testified that he agreed with ex-Pierce County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Clark鈥檚 ruling that Ellis died by homicide from oxygen deprivation caused by physical restraint.
Mitchell, a certified pathologist whose expertise is in determining causes of death, explained why professional medical organizations reject the existence of excited delirium.
Mitchell said deaths ascribed to excited delirium often involve other factors, such as restraint, that are overlooked.
Tuesday鈥檚 final witness was Steven Mell, a forensic investigator for the Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, who photographed the scene where Ellis died. Testimony resumes Wednesday with Mell on the stand.
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