A resident and cousin of co-founder Patrisse Cullors died after being apprehended by multiple police officers for allegedly causing a traffic incident, attempting to flee the police and resisting arrest.
The man, 31-year-old Keenan Darnell Anderson, was exhibiting erratic behavior before being tased repeatedly by arresting officers in the middle of a crowded Los Angeles street on January 3.
Following the incident, he was transported to a local hospital, where approximately four-and-a-half hours later he experienced a medical emergency and died. A preliminary toxicology report found cocaine metabolite and cannabinoids in his system.
Anderson repeatedly refused to cooperate with police instruction after causing a traffic incident in Los Angeles. The lengthy confrontation ultimately led to his tasing
The Los Angeles Police Department claimed that Anderson had been responsible for car crash in the Venice area and was in the middle of the street 'exhibiting erratic behavior.' Officers attempted to conduct an investigation of a driver operating under the influence.
Following his passing, Cullors took to instagram to mourn the passing of her cousin and blame the LAPD for his killing.
Cullors said Anderson was an educator who 'worked with high school aged children.'
'He was an English teacher,' she wrote. '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. Kennan we will fight for you and for all of our loved ones impacted by state violence,' she wrote.
A post on social media by Anderson's sister addressed her brother's death and expressed a similar sense of injustice. 'Keenan Anderson my brother was killed by LAPD I truly believe,' she wrote.
'Can't wait to see this body cam footage.'
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The more than 19-minute long documenting the tasing incident posted online by the Los Angeles Police Department shows Anderson behaving erratically and walking in the street without shoes.
When he is initially approached, he begins to cooperate with the officer and takes a seat on the sidewalk, though his demeanor is erratic and he repeats the phrase 'they're trying to kill me.'
Minutes later, he gets up as the officer tells him to remain seated and takes off back down the middle of the road with cars driving on it. The cop then boards his motorcycle to follow him and calls again for backup.
When he catches up to Anderson, the officer tells him to turn over on the ground, which Anderson refuses to do.
In the aftermath of his death, BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors took to instagram to mourn the passing of her cousin and blame the LAPD for his death
Anderson repeatedly said someone was trying to kill him throughout the incident
Police officers who arrived on the scene asked Anderson multiple times to calm down and listen to them. He ran away and refused their instructions, actions which led to his tasing
Eventually, other officers arrive and apply force to Anderson on the ground as he screams: 'They're trying to sedate me. I know too much.'
He also shouts, 'They think I killed C Lo' and 'C Lo is trying to kill me' a number of times.
During one moment of the struggle, he shouts, 'they're trying to George Floyd me,' seemingly referring to the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
As Anderson continues to physically battle the multiple officers who repeatedly ask him to calm down, he is warned he will soon be tased if he does not stop.
He is eventually tased several times as he continues to fight, all the while shouting at the officers. He continued to talk even after being tased as Fire Department officials and EMTs arrive.
As he is lifted into a wheelchair for transport, the officers tell Anderson he will be taken to a local hospital in Santa Monica, where he died hours later.
The video posted online by the LAPD features perspectives from the body cameras of several different officers on the scene, as well as a citizen bystander who observed the traffic incident that led to the dramatic altercation.
Citizens in the background of the arrest recorded the incident and spoke among themselves about the traffic incident that had occurred beforehand. One man said Anderson had attempted to steal his car before the police arrived
Officers repeatedly issued instructions to Anderson that he declined to follow. He was warned he would be tased if he did not physically comply with their instructions to turn over
In the background of the citizen's video, a driver can be heard saying that Anderson attempted to steal his vehicle before the cops arrived.
A communications officer for the LAPD said that the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office will be conducting its own independent toxicology report following Anderson's death.
The LAPD has classified Anderson's death as 'in-custody' and said its Force Investigation Division will conduct an investigation.
The police department appear to have released footage of the incident early, as 'body worn video' is generally released '45 days following a critical incident,' according to the force.
On the same day, the LAPD fatally shot a man armed with a sharp object in South LA and the day before another man, holding a large knife, was shot dead.
Following the incident, BLM Los Angeles wrote in a statement, 'A minor traffic incident shouldn't lead to death.'
Keenan Anderson with his child who is now 6. He was reportedly an English teacher who worked with high school aged children
Patrisse Cullors - one of the Co-Founders of BLM - has faced some degree of scrutiny for spending donor funds on lavish Los Angeles properties about which she lied for years
The Black Lives Matter Network was founded in 2013 by three women: Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi.
As the movement grew, a focus became advocating for the defunding of various police forces and law enforcement departments.
Last May it was revealed that  during its 2021 fiscal year to a Chicago group run by famous defund the police activist Richard Wallace.
In 2020 Cullors told WBUR: 'The demand of defunding law enforcement becomes a central demand in how we actually get real accountability and justice.'
'It means we are reducing the ability of law enforcement to have Extra resources that harm our communities,' she added.
Cullors has also become the target of ongoing criticism for accumulating a property portfolio that appears to be at odds with her persona as a self-described 'trained Marxist.' Though many facets of the mainstream media have shied away from covering her multi-million dollar California properties that were acquired with funds from her work as an activist.
In , Cullors denied accusations that she had personally benefited during the six years she guided the BLM foundation, but did admit to having lied about the use of some of those properties.
Notably, she admitted to using a $6million LA home purchased with BLM money for personal, non-BLM business, after previously denying doing so.

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