A D.C. teacher died hours after he was shocked with a stun gun in a struggle with police officers in Los Angeles.
Keenan Anderson, a cousin of Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors, taught 10th-grade English at Digital Pioneers Academy in Southeast, according to a statement from the school. He was visiting family in Los Angeles over winter break.
“He suffered cardiac arrest after being forcibly restrained and repeatedly tased by police following a traffic accident,” the statement said.
Anderson, 31, died Jan. 3 after going into cardiac arrest about 4-and-a-half hours after officers shocked him during a struggle in Venice, according to LAPD. He was wanted for possible DUI after a crash.
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Police said he acted erratically and spoke unintelligibly while ignoring commands, NBCLA reported. He was tased after running into traffic and resisting officers.
"He was clearly not in his right mind, yet he was handled with such force," said Carl Douglas, an attorney for the Anderson family.
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Anderson is one of three men whose deaths after encounters with LAPD officers are under investigation. Police said mental health issues were involved in each case.
The investigation of use of force in Anderson's case could take a year, police said.
Digital Pioneers Academy closed for mourning Thursday and Friday. The school is planning a memorial service.
"Keenan was a deeply committed educator and father of a 6-year-old son,” the statement from Digital Pioneers Academy said. “He had over eight years of experience as a teacher and leader. In less than six months at Digital Pioneers Academy, he established strong relationships with scholars and staff. He was beloved by all."
“He had eight years as an educator,” said Mashea Ashton, founder and CEO of Digital Pioneers Academy. “He had an advanced degree in education.”
“Whether it was reading ‘The Life of Pi’ or doing TikTok dances, Keenan knew that he could have a positive impact on our students,” she said.
Ashton spoke with News4 after a lengthy meeting with students, family and faculty.
“Our community is grieving, and we’re also angry,” she said.
Anderson’s death is just the latest loss for the school.
“We’ve experienced three deaths in the last 64 days,” Ashton said, referring to two students she said died due to gun violence in separate incidents in the fall.
“One scholar said to us, ‘How are we supposed to move forward when death keeps happening, when our community members are being murdered or killed?’ And I simply said, ‘One day at a time,’ and, ‘We get through it together,’” Ashton said.
Digital Pioneers Academy will offer ongoing grief counseling for students and staff.
