Keenan Anderson, one of the cousins of the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, died on January 3, after Los Angeles police officers immobilized him and applied their tasers - an electroshock weapon that, when used on the body of a person or animal temporarily incapacitates? on him repeatedly.
Patrisse Cullors' cousin died at a Santa Monica hospital of cardiac arrest, according to the Los Angeles Police Department? LAPD, for its acronym in English.
The horrifying action against Anderson, 31, a teacher and father, marked the third death so far this year involving a police officer.
Crude body camera footage of one of the officers, released by the LAPD itself, shows Anderson calling for help as he is restrained.
According to a press release issued by the LAPD on January 6, on January 3, at around 3:38 p.m., a traffic officer from the Western Traffic Division was arrested for a traffic collision in the area. of Venice Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard in the Pacific area where he observed a man, later identified as Keenan Anderson, running in the middle of the street and exhibiting erratic behavior.
The document states that several citizens involved in the traffic collision signaled to Anderson, indicating that he caused the accident.
"The officer contacted Anderson, spoke with him, and requested additional units for a DUI investigation. Anderson initially followed the officer's orders and sat on the northeast corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevard for several minutes while the officer spoke to him."
He further explained that when additional units arrived on the scene, Anderson suddenly attempted to flee the scene. The officers gave chase as Anderson ran east in the middle of the street on Venice Boulevard. When the officers were finally able to get close, they pointed out that he began to resist, which resulted in the use of force.
LAPD notes that the officers wrestled with Anderson for several minutes, using a TASER, body weight, firm grips and joint locks to overcome his resistance.
Subsequently, he added, Anderson was handcuffed and immobilized by the ankles. Shortly after he was arrested, personnel from the Los Angeles Fire Department?LAFD, for its acronym in English? went to the scene and provided medical assistance to remove the TASER.
Anderson was transported in a rescue ambulance to a local hospital in the city of Santa Monica. While in the hospital, Anderson went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead," he said.
He added that one officer received minor abrasions to his hands during the use of force.
For his part, Police Chief Michel Moore said at a news conference Wednesday that Anderson had committed a felony hit-and-run in a traffic accident and that he had attempted to flee the scene by trying to "get into the car of another person without their permission.
Footage from body cameras shows Anderson uneasy as police arrive, telling the first officer "someone is trying to kill me," even though no threat is visible on camera.
Everything seemed to be going well, Anderson sits down as directed, however, as other police arrive, he gets up and runs into the street, ignoring requests to stop.
When he is hit, he begins to shout "Please", "help" and "they are treating me like George Floyd!", referring to the murder of a black man that occurred in May 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a police officer.
It was in those moments that the use of the Taser entered. The stun gun was initially used about 30 seconds after an officer warned him multiple times to stop resisting arrest or he would be "shocked." Anderson agreed to calm down, but the officers re-tasered several more times, despite Anderson's no further resistance.
According to a toxicology report produced by the LAPD, Anderson's blood tested positive for cannabis and cocaine.
Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and who left her position as executive director of the organization in May 2021, posted a photo of her cousin on her Instagram account, noting that he was "killed by LAPD."
This is my cousin Keenan Anderson. He was killed by the LAPD in Venice on January 3, 2023. My cousin was an educator working with high school kids. He was an English teacher. LAPD has killed three people this year. One of them is a member of my family."
Keenan deserves to be alive right now, his son deserves to be raised by his father. Keenan, we will fight for you and all of our loved ones affected by state violence. I love you," he wrote.
With information from BBC and CNN.
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