New Video Reveals Why LAPD Kept Tasing Keenan Anderson Before He Died

VENICE, CA — The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday released additional bodycam footage of the arrest of Keenan Anderson, who died after being Tased in the back six times.

Anderson, a 31-year-old high school English teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, died on Jan. 3 after LAPD officers tried to arrest him after a minor traffic collision in Venice. The extended video includes about 15 minutes of additional footage of the moments leading up to Anderson's transport to a local hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died approximately four hours later.

In the additional footage, officers are heard discussing the use of the Taser, saying the darts that deployed when the Taser was fired at a distance didn't pierce Anderson because they got stuck in the fabric of his shirt. So they opted to hold the taser against his body, a technique known as dry tasing.

"It looks like all four of them hit his shirt and it was too loose," one officer said. "It wasn't working so that's why I dry Tased him."

In 2021, the LAPD began using Taser 7 energy weapons, according to the manufacturer Axon Enterprise, Inc. This model deploys two small probes, or darts, when fired. Officers fired the Taser twice from a distance before it was pressed to Anderson's back and deployed four more times point blank.

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

LAPD policy does not mention how frequently an officer can use a taser, but a 2021 directive urged them to avoid repeated use to avoid possible injury. Other police departments in the country limit officers from discharging a Taser more than three times or for a total duration of 15 seconds, according to the L.A. Times.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore expressed concern about the number of times Anderson was Tased and promised a thorough investigation into his death.

"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."