BLM Founder’s Cousin Dies After Los Angeles Police Arrest

A cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors died earlier this month after police officers arrested him in Los Angeles.

Keenan Anderson, 31, a D.C.-area charter school teacher, died at a hospital in Santa Monica on Jan. 3 following a struggle with police.

An officer was flagged down for a traffic collision in the area of Venice Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard in Pacific Area just after 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 3.

LAPD said the officer observed a male – later identified as Anderson – running in the middle of the street and behaving erratically. Several people involved in the traffic collision told the officer that Anderson was responsible for the accident, LAPD said.

Here is body camera footage from LAPD’s interaction with Keenan Anderson.

LAPD chief, Moore, stated in a news conference  Anderson’s behavior was “erratic” & he suffered a “medical emergency,” claiming a preliminary blood test revealed cannabis & cocaine in Anderson’s system https://t.co/lAnkmEYdnV pic.twitter.com/dRnsjzqmJV

— Salty Irish☘Girl 🇺🇲 (@IrishAmerican27) January 13, 2023

The officer spoke with Anderson who was initially compliant but tried to flee the scene and ran into the middle of the street when additional units arrived, LAPD said. Anderson began to resist arrest, resulting in the use of force {snip}

A struggled ensued for several minutes and officers used a TASER, bodyweight, firm grips, and joint locks, LAPD said.

In bodycam footage released by the department, Anderson can be heard yelling, “They’re trying to kill me.”

“They’re trying to George Floyd me,” Anderson said as an officer threatened to use a stun gun, which was repeatedly deployed seconds later {snip}

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An LAPD toxicology test found cocaine and cannabis in Anderson’s body {snip}