'They're Trying To George Floyd Me': Patrisse Cullors' Cousin Ran In Fear Of Cops
Body camera footage of the interaction between Keenan Anderson and the LAPD officers shows the man being repeatedly tased by police and begging for his life.
“They’re trying to George Floyd me!” Anderson exclaimed in the footage as officers had him pinned on the pavement, according to The Huffington Post.
The 31-year-old man had flagged down Los Angeles police officers after being involved in a traffic accident. However, the officers turned their focus to apprehending him. A father and an English teacher, Anderson was also the cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who is credited with being the first to use the now-historic hashtag.
RELATED: Cousin Of Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Dies After Being Repeatedly Tased By LAPD
In the video footage, Anderson is seen pleading for his life saying, “They’re trying to kill me!” adding, “Please don’t do this, sir!”
Anderson was repeatedly tased by officers and arrested and transported to a hospital where he later died.
Anderson was one of three Black or brown men who were killed in police interactions in the first week of 2023. Oscar Sanchez and Takar Smith were shot and killed in separate LAPD use-of-force interactions.
“These cluster of events, while miles apart, deeply concern me," LAPD Chief Michel Moore said, according to a report from CBS News. "I know it did [concern] the families involved as well as the community."
Moore added, “my commitment to the families is not just the condolences though. It's my commitment to ensure the greatest transparency as possible, as much as the law allows, to include the details of the investigation as well as the findings and my recommendations, eventually, regarding the actions of our people.”
“People are shocked. I’m shocked, and I helped start a movement to help hold police accountable,” Cullors told The Los Angeles Times. She left the Black Lives Matter organization in 2021 years after it became a globally recognized movement against police violence.
In speaking of the death of her cousin, she added, “Even though you’ve hashtagged, and you’ve protested, and you’ve called for police accountability and you’ve had conversations with your family about it, but it’s very different when it lands at your doorstep.”
