‘Black Lives Matter’ Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Shares Her Cousin Was Killed By LAPD

‘Black Lives Matter’ Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Shares Her Cousin Was Killed By LAPD

Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, has shared that her cousin was killed by Los Angeles police officers.

According to reports, Keenan Anderson — cousin of activist Patrisse Cullors — died on January 3 after he was tasered by police for allegedly trying to escape an arrest. Los Angeles police claim Keenan Anderson caused a car crash before standing in the middle of Venice Boulevard “behaving erratically” and trying to run away from officers carrying out a DUI investigation.

Keenan Anderson

Reportedly, the 31-year-old English teacher went into cardiac arrest and died at the hospital after being tasered. The LAPD has classified Keenan Anderson’s death as “in custody,” and said its Force Investigation Division will conduct an investigation.

Reports state that the incident happened at around 3:30 pm on January 3 in the area of Venice Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard. A traffic officer reportedly saw Anderson “running in the middle of the street and exhibiting erratic behavior,” as those involved motioned to the officer that he had been responsible for a crash.

Reports also claim that Anderson initially cooperated with the traffic officer, who then requested additional units for a DUI investigation. However, as additional officers arrived at the scene, Anderson allegedly tried to avoid being brought into custody by running eastwards in the middle of Venice Boulevard.

The LAPD said in a statement,

“Officers struggled with Anderson for several minutes, utilizing a TASER, bodyweight, firm grips, and joint locks to overcome his resistance. Anderson was subsequently handcuffed and hobbled at the ankles.”

After Anderson was arrested, the Los Angeles Fire Department reportedly rendered medical aid for the deployment of the taser. He was then taken to a hospital in Santa Monica where he died.

On Sunday (January 8), Patrisse Cullors revealed that Anderson was her cousin and posted a photo of him with his six-year-old son in a tribute post on Instagram. She wrote,

“This is my cousin Keenan Anderson. He was killed by LAPD in Venice on January 3rd, 2023. My cousin was an educator and worked with high school aged children. He was an English teacher. 

LAPD has killed three people this year. One of them is my
family member. 

Keenan deserves to be alive right now, his child deserves to be raised by his father. Keenan we will fight for you and for all of our loved ones impacted by state violence. 

I love you.

#JusticeForKeenan #BlackLivesMatter” 

When asked for footage of the events that lead to Anderson’s death, an LAPD official reportedly said that the “body-worn video is released 45 days following a critical incident.”

Black Lives Matter Los Angeles wrote in a statement,

“A minor traffic incident shouldn’t lead to death.”

As you may recall, The Black Lives Matter Network was founded in 2013 by three women: Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. Cullors resigned as executive director of the BLM foundation in May 2021 after allegations spread that she allegedly used funds from the organization to buy multi-million dollar homes.

Patrisse Cullors

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below. 

[VIA]