Black Lives Matter co-founder's cousin was tased 7 times in the back by LAPD officers before his death. The family's lawyer argues that the TASER was 'wrongly' activated.

• An LAPD officer stopped Keenan Anderson after a possible traffic collision on January 3.
• Bodycam footage shows officers used force and tased Anderson after he attempted to flee the scene.

Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old English teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, died on January 3 after he was tased seven times in the back and later went into cardiac arrest, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The encounter between Anderson and LAPD officers occurred on January 3, around 3:38 p.m. local time in Venice, California, according to a police news release that was posted three days after the incident.

LAPD also released, on Wednesday, about 13 minutes of bodycam footage from multiple officer perspectives and one witness video. A narration of the "critical incident" is provided by Captain Kelly Muñiz.

The footage appeared to show a traffic stop gone awry during which multiple officers subdued Anderson and employed the use of force before he was transported to a hospital.

Muñiz narrated that Anderson experienced a "medical emergency" about four and a half hours after the use-of-force incident and died after hospital staff employed "lifesaving efforts."

According to the LAPD's preliminary toxicology report, Anderson tested positive for cocaine and cannabis. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is conducting an independent test.

Sarah Ardalani, a public information officer for the coroner's office, said in an email to Insider that a cause of death was not determined after the autopsy.

"A medical examiner is requesting more investigation into the death, including additional studies," she said. "Once the tests/studies come back, the doctor evaluates the case again and makes the cause of death determination."

In the footage, Anderson is first seen running in the middle of a street near a busy Los Angeles intersection, asking a responding officer for aid. He is heard repeating, "Somebody's trying to kill me" and pointing to a nearby scene where multiple cars are stopped.

When Anderson pauses at a corner, the officer notes to his radio that he is responding to a traffic collision and a possible DUI incident.

"Several citizens involved in the traffic collision motioned to Anderson, indicating that he caused the accident," the police news release said.

Throughout the initial stop, Anderson can be heard telling a story about losing his car keys and people trying to "kill him" or "put stuff" in his BMW. He also says that he had a "stunt today" before trailing off in his explanation.

An attorney for Anderson's family, Carl Douglas, claimed in an interview with Insider that Anderson was in a state of mental crisis.

"Mr. Anderson was clearly in the midst of an emotional, mental crisis," he said. "He was paranoid. He was talking in nonsequiturs. It was clear to a layperson, and it should've been clear to a trained officer, that he was in the midst of a crisis."

The LAPD news release noted that Anderson was "exhibiting erratic behavior."

Anderson is then seen leaving the corner of the street about seven minutes later, according to police.

Multiple officers soon arrived to subdue Anderson onto the ground in the middle of the street. One officer warned that he would use a taser if Anderson did not comply with orders.

Captain Kelly Muñiz narrated in the video that Anderson "became increasingly agitated, uncooperative, and resisted the officers."

One officer proceeded to tase Anderson multiple times on his back. Douglas said Anderson was tased "seven separate times" around the "back of the heart."

In a press conference on Wednesday, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said his department has no "pre-set limit" on how many times a TASER can be used but that officers should "generally avoid repeated" use so as to not injure a suspect. He added that his preliminary understanding of the situation was that the officer believed repeated use of the TASER was resulting in compliance from Anderson.

As Anderson was pinned to the ground, he can be heard in the video saying, "They're trying to George Floyd me." He also yelled that the police are "actors" and that they were "trying to sedate" him because he "know too much."

In a separate witness video, one bystander who identified himself as an Uber driver is heard in the background claiming that Anderson caused an accident and attempted to steal his car. KNBC reported that the police department said Anderson attempted to carjack someone before causing a crash.

Bodycam footage from another officer who was responding to a possible collision showed three cars stopped in the middle of a street, including a gray BMW that Anderson claimed to be the owner of. An LAPD spokesperson said that the department cannot provide further details on the collision.

Anderson was restrained and transported to a hospital in Santa Monica where he died.

Douglas told Insider that he believes Anderson would be alive if he had not been tased multiple times and that the officer "wrongly" activated the TASER. The lawyer said his firm will be filing a wrongful death complaint against the city on behalf of Anderson's family.

An LAPD spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

"Is there any real wonder that he then went into cardiac arrest, and that efforts to revive him were futile," Douglas said. "If he had not been tasered seven separate times, then he would still be alive today."

Chief Moore said during the press conference that Anderson's death was the third critical incident in the span of two days where a person died following a police encounter.

On January 2, Takar Smith, 45, was fatally shot by officers after his wife called the police because he had violated his restraining order, The Los Angeles Times reported. On the day of Anderson's police encounter, Oscar Sanchez, 35, was also shot and later died in the hospital, according to Fox 11.

Moore said that he expedited the release of the bodycam footage for the three fatal incidents due to public interest.

Patrisse Cullors, Anderson's cousin and Black Lives Matter co-founder, wrote in an Instagram post that she believes the LAPD "killed" Anderson.

Cullors did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Cullors said that Anderson was "stolen from us. He was killed."

"The video footage was clear. He was scared, he was asking for help, he was begging for help. That's not what he received on January 3rd," she told The Post.

Douglas echoed Cullors's sentiment and told Insider that he's dealt with similar cases.

"It's another reflection of the challenges that law enforcement departments nationwide confront when there is a warrior mentality that is so pervasive in modern-day law enforcement instead of a guardian mentality," Douglas said.

An LAPD spokesperson declined to respond to Douglas's statement.

Anderson was a high-school English teacher, according to Cullors's Instagram post. Douglas said that Anderson leaves behind a five-year-old son.