Black Lives Matter founder's cousin 'Tasered to death' in video of brutal arrest
A 31-year-old man has died in custody after being repeatedly Tasered by a police officer last week.
Keenan Anderson, a teacher and father to a five-year-old boy, is also a cousin of of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, Patrisse Cullors.
Mr Anderson was working at a school in Washington and was visiting Los Angeles when he suffered a cardiac arrest, four hours after officers repeatedly shocked him with a Taser during detention.
He was the suspect in a hit-and-run traffic collision in Venice on Tuesday January 3, according to the police.
He initially complied with officers' orders as they investigated whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He later fled and officers chased him into the middle of the street.
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Keenan Anderson was tasered by police officers multiple times before he died (Los Angeles Police Department)They used physical force and a stun gun during a confrontation lasting several minutes, during which Mr Anderson screamed for help and struggled.
"They're trying to kill me," he yelled.
Distressing police body camera footage showed that at one point an officer's elbow was pushed into his neck.
The same officer's forearm also pressed against his chest and another officer said, "watch your elbow, partner."
Keenan Anderson can be seen asking for help in body camera footage (Los Angeles Police Department)"They're trying to George Floyd me," Mr Anderson said as an officer threatened to use a stun gun, which was repeatedly deployed seconds later while he was face down on the pavement and begging for help, saying, "I'm not resisting."
After he was subdued, Mr Anderson was transported to a hospital, where he died more than four hours later.
His death has sparked outrage with many calling for the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department to resign, while an investigation is ongoing.
Black Lives Matter supporters protested the officers' actions in Mr Anderson's death outside the LAPD headquarters on Wednesday.
Anderson was the suspect in a hit-and-run traffic collision (Los Angeles Police Department)Patrisse Cullors, Black Lives Matter co-founder and Mr Anderson's cousin said in an Instagram post on Sunday that Anderson was an English teacher who worked with high schoolers.
"Keenan deserves to be alive right now, his child deserves to be raised by his father," Cullors wrote. "Keenan we will fight for you and for all of our loved ones impacted by state violence."
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Cullors told the Guardian: "My cousin was asking for help, and he didn't receive it. 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."
Anderson initially complied with police orders before he attempted to flee the scene (Los Angeles Police Department)"It's unclear what role" the police officers played in Anderson's death, a Los Angeles Police Department chief said.
An LAPD toxicology test found cocaine and cannabis in Mr Anderson's body, although those results are separate from the coroner's independent report, the chief said.
He's the third person to die while in custody with the Los Angeles Police Department since the start of the year.
Takar Smith, 45, and Oscar Sanchez, 35, were both shot dead by officers at the start of January.
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