Keenan Anderson.Photo: Digital Pioneers Academy
Keenan Anderson, 31, was repeatedly shocked with a Taser during a struggle with officers after he allegedly fled from police following a car crash in Venice around 3:40 p.m. on Jan. 3, according to apress releasefrom the Los Angeles Police Department. At the time, officers were investigating whether he had been under the influence of any drugs or alcohol.
People involved in the crash flagged down police and claimed Anderson was responsible, the release states. In the body-camera footage, officer orders Anderson to get up against the wall, and Anderson gets down on his knees and puts his hands behind his head.
“I didn’t mean to,” he can be heard telling officers. “Please, I’m sorry.” He then tells police he lost his key and had his car fixed, adding that someone is trying to kill him.
“I had a stunt today,” Anderson can be heard saying in the footage after an officer asks him who he’s talking about.
After about seven minutes of questioning, Anderson gets up and apparently flees the scene on foot. He was “acting erratically,” and “ignoring officer commands,” police said in the release.
The video shows Anderson running into traffic and begging for help while officers order him to lay down on his stomach and hold him down in the middle of the road.
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“Stop it or I’m going to tase you,” another officer orders.
The release states: “As officers contacted Anderson, he began to resist, resulting in a use of force. Officers struggled with Anderson for several minutes, utilizing a TASER, bodyweight, firm grips, and joint locks to overcome his resistance.”
In the footage, Anderson can be heard telling officers, “please don’t do this,” and “I’m not resisting.”
Anderson taught English to 10th graders at Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington, D.C., according to astatement posted to the school’s website. He was in Los Angeles visiting family over the winter break.
“The details of his death are as disturbing as they are tragic,” the school’s statement reads.“Our community is grieving. But we’re also angry. Angry that, once again, a known, loved, and respected member of our community is no longer with us. Angry that another talented, beautiful black soul is gone too soon.”
Mashea Ashton, the charter school’s founder and CEO, remembered Anderson as a “deeply committed educator” who was also a father to a 6-year-old boy.
Detectives from the police department’s Force Investigation Division are now investigating since any death in its custody is considered a “categorical use of force.”
“He was clearly not in his right mind, yet he was handled with such force,” Carl Douglas, an attorney for the Anderson family, toldNBC 4.
On Jan. 5, the results of a preliminary toxicology screen on Anderson’s blood tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, police said. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is expected to conduct its own independent toxicology testing.
In a statement,Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass commented on the tragedy, emphasizing how the investigations into Anderson’s death, and two other men, Takar Smith and Oscar Sanchez, who also died in police custody this year, will “drive only toward truth and accountability.”
“No matter what these investigations determine, however, the need for urgent change is clear,” the statement reads. “We must reduce the use of force overall, and I have absolutely no tolerance for excessive force. We must also lead our city forward – finally – on the mental health crisis that has been allowed to grow, fester and cause so much harm to individual Angelenos, their families and our communities.”
She also requested the officers involved in the three separate encounters be placed on immediate leave.
“Once again, my heart breaks for the families and loved ones who are experiencing such a tragic loss.”
source: people.com
