Headlines for January 13, 2023
Written by GRB on 14/01/2023
The Los Angeles Police Department has released video showing the violent arrest of Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old Black schoolteacher and father who died just hours after his encounter with police on January 3. The video shows officers tackling Anderson to the pavement in the middle of an intersection as he begged for his life, saying, “They’re trying to George Floyd me.”
Keenan Anderson: “They’re trying to George Floyd me. They’re trying to George Floyd me.”
Police officer 1: “Stop it. Stop it, or I’m going to tase you. OK? Stop it, or I’m going to tase you.”
Police officer 2: “Stop resisting.”
Police officer 1: “Stop it, or I’m going to tase you.”
Police officer 2: “Stop resisting.”
Keenan Anderson: “Please.”
Police officer 2: “Stop resisting.”
Keenan Anderson: “Please. Please! Please!”
An officer electrocutes Anderson with a Taser for nearly 30 straight seconds as several others pin him to the ground, face-first. He’s later tased again for five more seconds. Anderson was restrained and taken by ambulance to a hospital in Santa Monica, where police say he died four-and-a-half hours later after suffering a cardiac arrest. The L.A. County Coroner’s Office has not yet ruled on the cause of Anderson’s death.
Anderson’s cousin is Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors. After viewing the footage, she told The Guardian, “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.”
