Prosecutors accused the officers of using deadly force on Manuel Ellis during his arrest in Washington state.

Mr Ellis, 33, was beaten and restrained face down on the pavement in Tacoma. Video footage shows him pleading for help, saying he could not breathe.

Defence attorneys argued he died from drugs and an existing heart condition.

His death came just months before George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, sparking protests and a new movement to highlight racial injustice.

Two of the officers in the Ellis case, Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38, were acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

The third, Timothy Rankine, 34, was acquitted of manslaughter. They had all pleaded not guilty.