Enlarged heart, cocaine use deemed cause of death of teacher tased by LAPD

An enlarged heart and cocaine use have been identified as the causes of death for Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old man who died hours after receiving multiple Taser shocks at the hands of Los Angeles police earlier this year, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

The L.A. County coroner’s report sheds additional light and brings renewed attention to the Jan. 3 incident, which was widely condemned as an excessive use of police force. The manner of Anderson’s death was undetermined, according to the coroner’s report.

The coroner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

The actions of the officers sparked protests, an internal investigation and calls for changes to police policies related to traffic collisions and the use of stun guns. Anderson’s death attracted heightened attention because he was a cousin of Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.

“My cousin was alive when he flagged the police. He was alive and after his interaction with the police, he was dead,” Cullors said on Instagram on Friday night. “This idea that the coroner is unable to determine how he died is unacceptable and to point to the substances and point to the enlarged heart and not to the tasers is very, very disturbing.”

In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said her thoughts are with Anderson’s friends and family, “as I know the release of this report will cause them and many Angelenos great pain as they still mourn this loss.”

“I remain committed to expanding the public safety system to include health professionals and to ensuring LAPD officers receive the best possible training to assist people in crisis,” Bass said. “The coroner raises questions that still must be answered and I await the result of the investigation already underway.”

Anderson died the evening of Jan. 3 after encountering L.A. police officers in the area of Venice and Lincoln boulevards.

Police reported Anderson was involved in a crash and had been running in the street while exhibiting “erratic” behavior. Officers contacted Anderson, who ran away after officers requested backup for a DUI investigation.

A group of officers struggled to control Anderson, who resisted their efforts to put him on his stomach and handcuff him. As officers used their body weight and arm holds, another officer discharged a Taser stun gun on him at least six times in 42 seconds, according to details released by authorities.

By the time fire personnel arrived, Anderson was unconscious and his breathing was labored. He was transported to a hospital in Santa Monica, where he was pronounced dead several hours later.

Anderson had been visiting family in Los Angeles while on winter break from his teaching job in Washington, D.C.

His family had filed a $50-million wrongful-death claim against the city of Los Angeles, which was denied. They are planning to file a lawsuit before the end of the month, according to their attorney Carl Douglas.

“Had officers chosen not to tase Mr. Anderson repeatedly on the back side of his heart, he would still be alive today,” Douglas said. “And there is nothing that was released by the autopsy report that disputes that conclusion.”

The family commissioned a private autopsy, which Douglas said confirmed the presence of cocaine in Anderson’s system, “which explains why there was a detachment from reality, but it doesn’t justify the conduct of officers.”

“He was compliant and not a threat,” Douglas said.