Keenan Anderson, Cousin Of BLM Cofounder, Dies After Being Tased By Los Angeles Police

Police in Los Angeles are being questioned following the death of Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old teacher and the cousin of Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors. Anderson died after police showed up at a traffic accident he was involved in and repeatedly tased him.

Footage released from Anderson's death shows that several police officers held him down as he said, "They’re trying to George Floyd me."

One officer is shown with his elbow on Anderson's neck as he is tased for 30 seconds and then an additional five.

Cullors issued a comment after reviewing the police footage.

She said, "My cousin was asking for help, and he didn’t receive it. He was killed. Nobody deserves to die in fear, panicking and scared for their life. My cousin was scared for his life. He spent the last 10 years witnessing a movement challenging the killing of Black people. He knew what was at stake and he was trying to protect himself. Nobody was willing to protect him."

The first officer to arrive at the scene of the car crash reportedly found Anderson in the middle of the road saying, "Please help me." The officer told Anderson to "Get up against the wall." Anderson then sat on the sidewalk for a few minutes before growing agitated about the officer's conduct.

Anderson is shown saying, "I want people to see me," and, "You’re putting a thing on me," before attempting to leave the scene. An officer follows Anderson on his motorcycle and tells him to lie down on his stomach. Anderson says, "Please help me," and, "They're trying to kill me," as several officers hold him down.

Paramedics arrived at the scene following the tasing. Anderson died of cardiac arrest in the hospital four hours later.

It's unclear why the first officer responded forcefully at the collision site. As Cullors said, "It was a traffic accident. Instead of treating him like a potential criminal, police should have called the ambulance."

She continued, "If there was a policy in which traffic stops were met with unarmed professionals who come to the scene to help with whatever situation has happened, that would have prevented my cousin’s death. And that would have prevented so many other deaths."

Cullors concluded, "These types of killings and this type of force will not be interrupted unless we have courageous elected officials come forward and challenge not just the police, but also the policies."

The LAPD has suggested that Anderson had cannabis and cocaine in his system at the time of his death and has labeled his death as an "in-custody death" instead of a police shooting.

Melina Abdullah, PhD, who is also a founder of Black Lives Matter, took issue with this statement.

Abdullah said, "We know that a minor traffic accident shouldn’t result in the death of anyone, let alone the death of this Black man, who was clearly unarmed and wasn’t doing anything wrong."