Reactions and controversies are growing in the United States after the public disclosure, on Wednesday, January 11, of police videos showing the arrest in Los Angeles of Keenan Anderson, a black American, cousin of one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 31-year-old man died hours after receiving a series of electric shocks from a Taser gun during his arrest on Jan. 3, California city officials said.
In the images captured by the laptop cameras of the agents involved, we see this teacher visibly feverish and agitated after being involved in a mundane traffic accident in the Venice district.
After initially complying with the orders of the agents who wanted to check if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Keenan Anderson then fled in the middle of the street. The police, who quickly catch up to him, use force to subdue him and pin him to the ground, where they Taser him to stop him from struggling.
“Officers struggled with Anderson for several minutes, using a Taser, their body weight, firm grips and arm bars to overcome his resistance”Los Angeles police said in a statement.
“They’re trying to make me like George Floyd”
The video shows Keenan Anderson screaming “Help”, “they’re trying to kill me” or “They’re trying to make me the same as George Floyd”, as an officer places his elbow on his chest and neck. Police camera footage shows that at one point an officer’s elbow was struck in Anderson’s neck. While the same officer’s forearm is also pressed against his chest, another officer tells him: “Watch your elbow, partner. »
On May 25, 2020, African-American George Floyd died of suffocation by a Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on his neck for nearly ten minutes. This police blunder had triggered a protest movement in the United States and in other countries of the world with the central slogan “Black Lives Matter” (“Black Lives Matter”).
After being subdued, Keenan Anderson was taken to the hospital, where he died of cardiac arrest a few hours later.
“He was killed by the police”, accused on Instagram Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matters movement. Washington resident Keenan Anderson, who was visiting Los Angeles, was his cousin. “Keenan deserved to live, his child deserved to be raised by their father. Keenan, we will fight for you and for all our loved ones who are victims of state violence.”she added.
Cocaine and Cannabis
“We don’t know what role” officers played a role in Keenan Anderson’s death, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said. A toxicology test by the city police department found cocaine and cannabis in Anderson’s body, although those results are separate from the independent medical examiner’s report, Moore said.
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Keenan Anderson’s death brings to three the number of deaths involving police officers in the city of Los Angeles since the start of 2023, according to US media. The African-American mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, called for the immediate suspension of these police officers pending the results of the investigations.
“Regardless of the outcome of these investigations, the need for urgent changes is clear. We must first of all reduce the use of force, and I have absolutely no tolerance for that [l’usage] excessive force”said Wednesday Mme Stall.
