A second Tacoma police officer charged in the death of Manuel Ellis appeared on the witness stand testifying in his own defense on Tuesday. Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died after a confrontation with officers, including officer Timothy Rankine. Rankine is charged with first-degree manslaughter. Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank are charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. Rankine, by his own admission, applied his weight to Ellis’ back while Ellis was lying handcuffed, faced down on the ground. Rankine and other officers said they were attempting to stop Ellis from thrashing around, and that they feared he was trying to get up. READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/death-of-manuel-ellis/tacoma-officer-charged-manuel-manny-ellis-death-testifies/281-adf89851-6ab0-412b-b972-0769ee4534cd