January 13, 2023
Video: Cousin of BLM Co-Founder Repeatedly Tased by Police Hours Before Dying in Hospital
A relative of a Black Lives Matter co-founder was recently killed by police officers in Los Angeles. A video of his last moments alive revealed that Los Angeles Police Department officers repeatedly tased him as he begged for his life.
According to The Daily Beast, Keenan Anderson, the cousin of BLM‘s co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, died after an encounter with Los Angeles police officers. An officer is seen on body-cam video repeatedly tasing him several hours before he passed away at a hospital.
LAPD released footage from several body cameras showing the interaction that took place between Anderson and police officers on Jan. 3. A police officer on a motorbike directed Anderson, who looked like he was in a troubled state, to move to the sidewalk. After Anderson was told to sit on the ground, he told the police officer that someone was trying to kill him. While in discussion with the officer, Anderson got up and started to leave the vicinity. The police officer got back on his motorcycle and pursued Anderson.
When the officer caught up to him, he ordered Anderson to lie on his stomach. As he approached Anderson, several other police officers arrived on the scene and proceeded to take him down as he protested. Anderson is heard yelling, “Help me, please! No, please help me!” as they surrounded him. As he continued to struggle with the police officers, one threatened to tase him. Anderson said out loud that “they’re trying to kill” him as he fought to get free.
As he was lying on the ground, amid the threat of being tased, he said, “They’re trying to George Floyd me!”
After being warned again, Anderson was tased several times until police finally restrained him. Emergency personnel eventually arrived and Anderson was taken away by ambulance. Several hours later, he suffered cardiac arrest and died at the hospital.
You can view the interaction below.
Cullors went to her Instagram and posted about the tragedy.
“This is my cousin Keenan Anderson. He was killed by LAPD in Venice on January 3rd, 2023. My cousin was an educator and worked with high school aged children. He was an English teacher.”
“LAPD has killed three people this year. One of them is my family member.”
“Keenan deserves to be alive right now, his child deserves to be raised by his father. Keenan we will fight for you and for all of our loved ones impacted by state violence.”
“I love you.”
View this post on Instagram
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said on Wednesday that “it’s unclear” what role the interaction with police played in his death. He did state that Anderson was in an “altered mental state” and said a preliminary blood test revealed that he had cannabis and cocaine in his system.
An LAPD spokesperson told the media outlet that it would not release the names at this time of the officers involved in the arrest of Anderson.