Bodycam video shows Anderson being shocked by Taser
Black Lives Matter supporters have protested outside LAPD headquarters in the wake of Anderson’s death, which they see as another example of a Black man dying due to police misconduct.
Body camera and bystander cellphone video released of Anderson’s interaction with police showed him calling for help, and at one point an officer had his elbow pressed into Anderson’s neck while Anderson was on his back on the pavement.
“They’re trying to kill me,” Anderson said. “They’re trying to George Floyd me.”
Officers tried to get Anderson to turn onto his stomach so they could handcuff him while Anderson resisted, the video shows.
“Stop it, or I’m going to tase you,” an officer said repeatedly. Anderson was then repeatedly shocked by the Taser.
“My son is going to see that one day, and I don’t know how I will answer any of his questions, now or in the future,” Hansell said. “We are here to get justice for Keenan and in the process we hope to evoke change so that moving forward my son doesn’t have to live his life in fear of one day what happened to his dad may happen to him.”
LAPD used ‘unreasonable deadly force,’ claim alleges
Anderson’s 5-year-old son Syncere Kai Anderson, his mother Gabrielle Hansell and their attorneys announced the claim at a press conference on Friday. Anderson was related to Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.
The claim alleges that LAPD failed to properly train its officers to detain someone without using “unreasonable deadly force” or that officers didn’t implement their training.
It also claims the officers involved had no reason to believe Anderson posed a threat and were unjustified in using a Taser on him. Lawyers for the family also said in the claim they believe officers’ implicit bias against Anderson as a Black man contributed to their view of him as a threat.
“The officers’ use of unreasonable force under these circumstances was intentionally malicious, oppressive, and despicable, and/or with a deliberate indifference to Mr. Anderson’s rights and safety,” the compaint says.
The claim filed Friday was required before the attorneys can file a lawsuit for wrongful death and civil rights violations against the city and the officers involved, which Douglas said they intend to pursue.
The officers have not been named.
