The mother of Manuel Ellis, who was beaten and killed by police they are now, according to them, under significant intimidation and possibly illegal surveillance. Put up the picture full of mass. [00:00:15] Let me remind you of the story and give you the twists and turn. The family of Manuel Ellis, a 33 year old who was beaten and killed by Washington to police, are alleging witness intimidation throughout the ongoing trial against the three officers responsible for his death. [00:00:35] Marcia Carter Patterson, Ellis's mother, reported being very scared to take the stand. Three days following open statements, Patterson found a tracking device in her car and has since had two tires slashed. [00:00:55] Carter Patterson told the outlet that while she was afraid she would not let the intimidation stop her testimony, quote, I'm not going to be intimidated, she declared. Carter Patterson testified that she'd spoken to her son just two hours [00:01:10] before his fatal encounter with three officers. She learned about his death the next day. Quote, it was the worst day of my life, testified Carter Patterson. I lost it because I didn't think that it was true. [00:01:28] Ellis died in police custody after being beaten, shocked, choked, hog tied, and had a spit mask placed over his head while being detained on the Tacoma, Washington street March 3, 2020. [00:01:45] Despite multiple witnesses saying Ellis was not aggressive during the arrest, the three officers have claimed he had superhuman strength when they accosted him, [00:02:01] causing them to use a taser to choke him, to punch him, as well as hog tie him and put a spit cap over his head while ignoring his pleas that he could not breathe. [00:02:17] Once the family began speaking out, backlash and intimidation from the police department as well as the public started after the attorney says they aren't the only one. On Friday, Ms Carter Patterson was getting out of her car, but she noticed something dropped from it. [00:02:35] Closer inspection revealed a small black air tag, a discrete tracking device that uses Wi-Fi technology. Alarmed by the discovery, Ms Carter Patterson has stayed with relatives beginning Friday night. An investigation from the attorney general's office collected the air tag. [00:02:51] Now, I will say this just given how it happened, how it happened, they probably wanted her to see the device. There's more, on Saturday morning, Carter Patterson said her relatives found two tires that had been slashed while it was parked at her home in Tacoma, all right. [00:03:10] Lawyers for the three officers said they were unaware of the air tag, denied that anyone associated with them or the client was involved. And this is according to the family witness intimidation. [00:03:27] What has my mother done to deserve this besides have a dead son, Carter Mixon said. The family's attorney, James Bible, told the outlet that the family has been the focus of harsh criticism and intimidation. [00:03:43] The attorney said that Tacoma police personnel and the sheriff's department, the staffer, secretly surveilled the family as well as supporters and another witness, Sara McDowell. McDowell recorded one of the cell phone videos of the arrest and [00:04:00] was targeted with a restraining order that was later dismissed by the judge. The intimidation they've experienced is not new, said Bible. From the minute they stood up for the memory of their deceased loved one, [00:04:16] they have been the focus of the harshest criticism and intimidation you can imagine. The attorney said the family is weighing its options. Its options including whether to report incidents to the FBI. The family chose to not call Tacoma police to report a tracking device and [00:04:33] vandalism because of the obvious conflict of interest with officers from the Tacoma Police Department on trial for her son's death. Officers Matthew Collins, 40, Christopher Shane Burbank, 38, are on trial for second degree murder. [00:04:50] Collins, Burbank, and Officer Timothy Rankine, 34, all charged with first degree manslaughter. The defendants have pleaded not guilty. They are currently free on bail, remain employed, but on paid leave. They kill someone, they get a paid vacation. [00:05:06] All right, Ms Khan, thoughts here? >> Speaker 2: Yeah, well, good for her for speaking out and for not being intimidated. But she already lost her son, so good luck scaring that woman. >> Speaker 1: That's right. >> Speaker 2: And this is why people don't trust the cops. And this is why the idea of a good cop, while I personally believe they can exist, [00:05:22] it's an incredibly hard sell because when these things do happen, the other cops don't need to intimidate witnesses, but then they do. They don't need to attempt to bury the case, but they do. They need to just take accountability without being protected by their colleagues and by the whole system. [00:05:40] People aren't necessarily mad at individual cops when things like this happen. They're mad at the corruption within the police forces and within the so called justice system. If things happen, hold the cops accountable. Hold the ones who did it accountable. Don't rehire them in another district, in some other small town, somewhere else. [00:05:57] Take away their authority, take away their power over ordinary citizens. Take away their guns and all their deadly force that they're able to walk around with and carry, and let them know that they can't do things that are also illegal and get away with it. [00:06:13] >> Speaker 1: That's right, well said.