'Trying To George Floyd Me': LAPD Releases Video From In-Custody Death

VENICE, CA — The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday released body camera footage showing the final moments of Keenan Anderson, who died in police custody following a Jan. 3 crash in Venice.

In the video, Anderson, a 31-year-old high school English teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, was seen running into traffic before LAPD officers subdued him and tased him in his upper body six times. LAPD Chief Michel Moore expressed concerns about the number of times Anderson was tased.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Moore promised a thorough investigation into Anderson's death, along with two other people who died in LAPD custody within the first three days of 2023.

"In my preliminary review of this incident, it's unclear what the role of that Taser was," Moore said. "To be clear, it's dependent on the totality of our investigative resources, but also on medical records from the hospital as well as a coroner's report and their formal and forensic level examination. As this investigation continues, however, I will pay close attention to the use of the Taser."

The LAPD encounter with Anderson happened in the area of Venice and Lincoln boulevards at 3:38 p.m. on Jan. 3. He had just been in a car crash, police said. In a statement from LAPD released last week, officials said witnesses identified Anderson as the cause of the accident.

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The footage released Wednesday starts with Anderson running in traffic and waving down an LAPD officer, who then urges Anderson to get to safety on a nearby sidewalk. Anderson complied, and the officer requested additional units to come to the scene for a DUI investigation.

Anderson can be heard telling the officer, “They’re going to try to kill me, please. I had a stunt today, sir. They’re going to try to put stuff in my car.”

It's not clear from the video who Anderson thought was trying to kill him.

Just before other additional LAPD officers arrived, Anderson began running into traffic again. As more officers arrived, they forced Anderson facedown onto the street while he yelled for help
“They’re trying to kill me. They’re trying to George Floyd me,” Anderson said.

Officers in the video struggled with Anderson for several minutes and told him to stop resisting many times or they would tase him.

“Keenan relax. Turn over or I’m going to tase you,” one officer can be heard saying in the video. “Please stop resisting.”

Anderson continued to shout for help before officers tased, handcuffed and hobbled him at the ankles.

As he was being restrained Anderson said, “Help, please, these are actors. This is an act, they’re not police.” During the incident Anderson shouted “C Lo” many times, later saying, “They think I killed C Lo.”

“Nobody is trying to kill you,” an officer told Anderson while he struggled.

Before paramedics arrived, Anderson insisted officers were trying to sedate him because he “knew too much.”

Editor's note: The below video is police footage of the incident and may be difficult for some viewers to watch.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics treated Anderson after he was taken into custody and transported him to a local hospital in Santa Monica. At the hospital, Anderson went into cardiac arrest and died, according to police.

Preliminary toxicology reports from the Los Angeles Police Department Forensic Science Division indicated that samples of Anderson's blood tested positive for Cocaine Metabolite and Cannabinoids, according to LAPD. The L.A. County Coroner's Office will conduct its own toxicology testing according to LAPD.

The LAPD also released video footage Wednesday from the fatal police shootings of Oscar Leon Sanchez on Jan. 3, and of Takar Smith on Jan. 2.

Moore said he was concerned that in all three cases, the suspects were all in some type of mental distress, but the department's mental-health intervention team was not called in.

"Our mental evaluation unit which we've invested in substantially to be a call center 24 hours a day, expectation is this type of pattern of information would result in a consult," Moore said.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said she had grave concerns about the "deeply disturbing" tapes, and offered her condolences to the families of Anderson, as well as those of Smith and Sanchez. Bass urged the police department to put the officers involved in the deaths on immediate leave.

"No matter what these investigations determine, however, the need for urgent change is clear. We must reduce the use of force overall, and I have absolutely no tolerance for excessive force," Bass said in a statement. "When there is no immediate risk to others, law enforcement must not be the first responder when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis."

Both Bass and District 11 Councilwoman Traci Park put emphasis on the need to address the mental health crisis and its relation to incidents with law enforcement. According to Bass, a third or more of the people who died during encounters with police were experiencing a mental health crisis.

"We must also lead our community forward on addressing the mental health crisis- a crisis that robs us of friends and family, causing life-altering events with cascading consequences," Park said. "I am committed to taking action to address this emergency."

City News Service contributed to this report.