US police officers found not guilty in killing of Black man

Al Jazeera :
Three police officers in the US state of Washington have been found not guilty of all charges in the 2020 killing of a Black man whose death drew comparisons with the murder of George Floyd.

Christopher Burbank, 38, and Matthew Collins, 40, were found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, while Timothy Rankine, 34, was acquitted of manslaughter following a 10-week trial.

Manuel Ellis, 33, died while in police custody in Tacoma, Washington, on March 3, 2020.

Footage presented at trial showed the officers putting Ellis, who was unarmed, in a chokehold, shooting him with a stun gun and pinning him to the street with their body weight.

In video of the encounter, Ellis can be heard pleading with the officers, telling them, “Can’t breathe, sir, can’t breathe.”

The police officers’ lawyers argued that Ellis died from a lethal dose of methamphetamine combined with an existing heart condition and that he had kicked the door of their police car.