U.S. News
Expert says tasers should be banned after a teacher tased 7 times later died
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- A former police officer who now researches excessive use-of-force incidents said tasers should be banned after the death of Keenan Anderson early this month.
- Bodycam footage reveals officers repeatedly tased Anderson who later went into a fatal cardiac arrest.
- Medical experts say police use of taser guns for years, following several research, reveals the weapon is now less-than-lethal, rather than non-lethal.
Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old teacher, who was tased 7 times by a Los Angeles Police Department officer, went into cardiac arrest and died at the hospital hours later.
Anderson, a cousin of Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors, was flagged down by the LAPD on January 3 after a traffic incident in Venice, California and ended up restrained on the ground.
The LAPD released body camera footage on January 12 showing Anderson yelling in pain and pleading for help while an officer tased his back.
“The police are supposed to be here to protect and serve the people, and yet they abuse their authority and have a lack of respect for human life,” Dominique Anderson, the younger sister of Anderson, said in a news conference.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not yet announced the cause of death but the incident has sparked new conversations about the deadly use of stun guns by police. According to a Reuters report, excessive use of tasers has resulted in the deaths of more than one thousand people between 2000 and 2018.
The deaths disproportionately affect Black people, according to the Reuters report. Despite only making up 14% of the US population, Black people accounted for 32% of the deaths, while white people made up 29% of deaths, despite making up 60% of the country’s population.
Kalfani Turè, a former police officer, believes “the Taser directly caused the death of Anderson.”
Turè, now an assistant professor at Mount Saint Mary’s University who researches use-of-force incidents, said that many police departments don’t have a set of rules limiting how taser guns are used. Turè is against the current use of Tasers because of the police’s false notion that the weapon is non-lethal. He added that tasers could potentially set people on fire.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore told reporters in a news conference after the release of the body camera footage, that the LAPD had “no pre-set limit on the number of times a Taser can be used in a particular situation.” But he added that police should “generally avoid repeated or simultaneous activations to avoid potential injury.”
In addition, Turè said that the officer’s use of the Taser near Anderson’s chest is dangerous as stun guns can cause the heart to stop. Turè also pointed out that the use of drugs could have contributed to Anderson’s agitated state and an increased heart rate, considering the toxicology report stating Anderson tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
Source: Insider
Michael Goodson
January 24, 2023 at 6:37 am
Can we ban suspects from using guns to kill police officers?
Steve Johnson
January 24, 2023 at 6:48 am
Why 7 times – I am assuming he continued to fight///// Maybe perps should stop when told to?
bmp66
January 24, 2023 at 9:26 am
The taser appeared to be ineffective at first because people who are “hopped up” on drugs can often have a sense of super-human strength. At times, it has taken 4-6 police officers to bring down a violently-resisting criminal on drugs. When it would be dangerous to let a currently-dangerous person go free, the police officers MUST get him off the streets at least for a time. Most drug users who die in confrontations bring death on themselves. They can’t evaluate the outcomes for submitting. Drugs in a long-time user’s system often create paranoia, especially when he mixes them. This is one reason why a “user” can become a threat to innocent passers-by; they become actors in the scenario in his mind. The police understood that if they wouldn’t use their guns, or didn’t have a K-9 available, they had only the taser.
C.A. DeCunzo
January 24, 2023 at 7:02 am
Tasers were banned for the longest time here in Maryland. However, although the City of Baltimore reversed its previous ban on these weapons in 2017, it still prohibits possession of electronic control devices in certain places (such as public schools and buildings) and by certain people, including anyone who’s subject to a protective order or who has a psychiatric disorder along with a history of violent behavior. Adults in Maryland can buy stun guns and Tasers without a permit unless they’ve been convicted of certain crimes. But state laws on carrying and using dangerous weapons could apply to these electronic weapons.
Erik Solensten
January 24, 2023 at 7:04 am
First, if he was not taking drugs and causing a crime, nothing would happen. At this point Place are innocent forever after i’m a paramedic fire fighter, and a taser instructor from a security company. Compliance is the easiest way to avoid anything of course being drugged. Drugs killed him not the police. George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose not police brutality I can’t stand this baloney drama narrative. Also, do you want to talk? Statistics look at the statistics of what small percentage of the population commits 80% of the crime. And of course they have an excuse why they have to commit the crime. I’m over this.. well that my pension this person had a rough sheet a mile long. And should be in prison and never put on the street in the first place. Save a life keep them in jail.
Erik Solensten
January 24, 2023 at 7:06 am
First, if he was not taking drugs and causing a crime, nothing would happen. At this point Place are innocent forever after. i’m a paramedic fire fighter, and a taser instructor from a security company. Compliance is the easiest way to avoid anything. Drugs killed him not the police. George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose not police brutality I can’t stand this baloney drama narrative. Also, do you want to talk? Statistics look at the statistics of what small percentage of the population commits 80% of the crime. And of course they have an excuse why they have to commit the crime. I’m over this.. well that bet mypension this person had a rap sheet a mile long. And should be in prison and never put on the street in the first place. Save a life keep them in jail.
ARJAY
January 24, 2023 at 7:35 am
It’s a KNOWN fact that a higher percentage of blacks commit more crimes than the percentage of whites and blacks will NOT conform to the police demands to stop resisting arrest. IF blacks would quit committing crimes and resisting the police commands, guess what? The damage and deaths of black CRIMINALS would drop like a 10 ton rock. But we all know, THAT will never happen! Crime and non-compliance seems to be in their DNA!
Stuart C
January 24, 2023 at 7:36 am
I saw the video. He was agitated, delusional and would feign compliance and then become aggressive. Police were too nice to him and probably should have tackled him and cuffed him before it escalated; but, they probably didn’t want to be seen being violent to a Black man especially when he was repeatedly ranting about how they were going to kill him before they ever came close.
Tasing him seven times was probably excessive but he was a danger to them, to bystanders and to himself. They didn’t attempt to subdue him until he ran into the street. But, he was completely non-compliant and speaking and acting crazy.
Don’t do drugs and comply when officers are telling you to get down on the ground and you won’t have tasers or guns used on you. I hate the underlying racist tone of this article that seems to push the blame onto the officers.
Neanniegirl
January 24, 2023 at 9:13 am
AGREE! Not only all of the above, but he was a TEACHER! Wonder how many kids, he influenced to use drugs? He was also a father-Maybe God had a hand in taking him OUT, because of the children he was/would continue, to influence! This may have been an answer to several parents prayers for THEIR children!
moon
January 24, 2023 at 12:27 pm
glad hes not a teacher anymore.
Rat Wrangler
January 24, 2023 at 8:35 am
When confronting a violent and unruly person who could present a danger to others, officers basically have three, perhaps four, recourses. They can use a gun, taser, nightstick, or overwhelm him if there are multiple officers present. Which would be the preferred method? Tasers offer the best hope of taking down a violent person while doing the least damage. That’s why officers carry them. Expecting the person to just calm down because the police asked him to is very unrealistic. The officers don’t know what they will be facing when they arrive on the scene. Will it be just an aggressive person, or will it be someone with severe mental illness? Either can behave irrationally at any time, so just what actions should the police take in such a situation? People against police violence should be stepping up and answering that question, and no one has to date.
Don
January 24, 2023 at 9:01 am
Said “police expert” should never have been in uniform. The clown got what he deserved for being aggressive. Had he not been it wouldn’t have been necessary. The supposed clown “expert” needs to grow up and shut up. The taser is a substitute to prevent them from shooting him which lunatics deserve.
moon
January 24, 2023 at 12:26 pm
agreed. an x police officer saying bs like this. fire the sob
James Herman
January 24, 2023 at 9:20 am
“The deaths disproportionately affect Black people,” That’s because blacks “disproportionately” commit more crimes than white people…
Ken
January 24, 2023 at 10:46 am
All they have to do is submit to the arrest and settle it in court. The failure to comply is the reason WHY!
American
January 24, 2023 at 12:20 pm
Was he resisting arrest and/or running from the police? The police must use whatever means necessary to subdue a suspect. It this suspect would have cooperated he wouldn’t be dead. It is on him not the police. It is a shame that it turned out this way.
moon
January 24, 2023 at 12:24 pm
died at a hospital hrs. later. how do we know the doctor didnt kill him. ban doctors
Redrag
January 24, 2023 at 1:38 pm
The COVID shots killed more than one person. Were is the push to ban it forever
grrumpa
January 24, 2023 at 3:55 pm
The statistics — “The deaths disproportionately affect Black people, according to the Reuters report. Despite only making up 14% of the US population, Black people accounted for 32% of the deaths, while white people made up 29% of deaths, despite making up 60% of the country’s population”. — are misleading because even though blacks make up 14% of the population, they commit most of the crime. That’s why they account for 32% of the deaths.
Andrew
January 24, 2023 at 6:45 pm
Sounds like BLM punks getting what they deserve after what they did to our country. Let’s repeat this for every member of BLM and Antifa. Great things to come.
CharlieSeattle
January 25, 2023 at 2:23 am
…deaths??? …disproportionately affect Black people?
Black people disproportionately engage in more crime.
50 years of FBI black on …everybody else ….violent crime statistics back that up!