More than two years after the killing of African American George Floyd by a police officer, another case of police brutality in the United States is raising questions.
Videos of the police operation that led to the death of 31-year-old teacher Keenan Anderson in Los Angeles on January 3 circulated on social networks. The black man became restless during the proceedings.
“Shocking footage shows Keenan Anderson, a black high school teacher, begging for his life as police 🇺🇸 repeatedly tasered him several hours before his death.”
➡️Aucune political recovery 🤡 because it is not the right that is in power, but the gauchiasserie. pic.twitter.com/T8QKGIA3pf— Big Boss (@ColonelBigBoss) January 13, 2023
He had previously been involved in a traffic accident. He appeared to exhibit erratic behavior and then walked down the street. The authorities therefore decided to use force to bring him under control.
While the man was on the ground, police hit him four times in the back with a taser gun within 33 seconds.
In one of the videos, Keenan asks Anderson for help multiple times while officers attempt to subdue him.
“You’re trying to do the same thing George Floyd did to me,” exclaimed the man, who worked in Washington DC and was visiting Los Angeles.
He was handcuffed before paramedics arrived. He eventually died four hours later in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Keenan Anderson is the cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.
“It will be difficult to convince a judge”
A Northern California congressman and senior state adviser on police tactics Ed Obayashi criticized the intervention in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“It will be difficult to convince a judge that these officers used reasonable force,” he said. Looking at the pictures, he does not threaten the police. The victim said he did not resist. What might be termed resistance is the body’s automatic response to the painful application of the taser.
A retired police officer, Walter Katz, also expressed serious reservations. Katz said the victim failed to comply with a police order after the weapon was first used.
“The first use of the ‘Taser’ is that when it is effective, it contracts the muscles so that the person cannot move and is unable to follow that command,” he explained. […] It was a bad decision by the police to use the repeater.”
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the incident.