Keenan Anderson dies after being tased by LAPD officers on January 3 following traffic collision
By Sam Catanzaro
Keenan Anderson – the cousin of a Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors – died last week after he was tasered by police and went into cardiac arrest in their custody.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), on January 3 an officer was flagged down a little after 3:30 p.m. in response to a traffic collision at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard.
“He observed a male, later identified as Keenan Anderson, running in the middle of the street and exhibiting erratic behavior. Several citizens involved in the traffic collision motioned to Anderson, indicating that he caused the accident. The officer contacted Anderson, verbalized with him, and requested additional units for a DUI investigation,” the LAPD said in a press release.
The LAPD reported that Anderson initially followed the officer’s commands and sat at the northeast corner of Venice and Lincoln boulevards for “several minutes” as the officer spoke with him.
“As additional units arrived at [the] scene, Anderson suddenly attempted to flee the location. Officers gave chase as Anderson ran eastbound in the middle of the street on Venice Boulevard. 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,” the LAPD said.
According to the LAPD, Anderson was “handcuffed and hobbled at the ankles” before being taken into custody. Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) personnel responded to the scene and rendered medical aid for injuries inflicted by the deployment. Anderson was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Santa Monica. While at the hospital, Anderson went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead.
The LAPD says body cam footage will be released 45 days after the incident.
In the wake of Anderson’s death, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors Cullors took to social media saying that Anderson was her cousin.
“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,” reads the post, which shows Anderson with his son, who is now six.
“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,” the post continues.
