Los Angeles police have been criticized for the death of a black man after being arrested. The 31-year-old teacher Keenan Anderson died in early January after police in the Venice district repeatedly used a stun gun on him. Anderson is a cousin of Black Lives Matter protest movement co-founder Patrisse Cullors.
According to the police, the man had behaved “unpredictably” when officers arrived at an accident site on January 3. Body camera footage released this week shows the 31-year-old being pinned to the ground by a police officer. Another calls out several times, “Turn around or I’ll taser you.”
The visibly agitated man on the floor calls back, “You’re trying to kill me” and “Help, please – I’m not resisting, I’m not resisting.”
Anderson died in the hospital – the cause is not yet known
Anderson was eventually handcuffed and taken to a hospital, where he died four hours later. His cause of death has not yet been announced.
The teacher from Washington was visiting Los Angeles. In 2020, his cousin was one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter protest movement, which denounces police violence against African Americans.
It is estimated that hundreds of people have died after police used stun guns in the United States.
According to the police, Anderson is said to have resisted – his cousin doubts this
The Los Angeles Police Department said the arrested man resisted the officers. The officers wrestled with the man for “several minutes” and used, among other things, “a taser, her body weight, grab handles”.
However, Cullors and others doubt this version. Her cousin was “really scared” and “repeatedly asked for help,” she told the LA Times.
Her cousin’s death prompted angry reactions. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for the police officers involved to be suspended immediately. California Rep. Barbara Lee wrote on Twitter that she was “outraged and heartbroken” that the man was “senselessly murdered by police.” (AFP)
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