Tanisha Anderson
“They killed my sister,” Joell Anderson, Tanisha’s 40-year-old brother said as he fought back tears. “I watched it.”
Suffering a mental health breakdown on the evening of November 12, Tanisha's family called 911 so that she could be taken to a hospital. Instead of an ambulance, the police arrived. Like so many other families who sought medical attention for their loved ones, police killed Tanisha just a few minutes after arriving.
Could you ever imagine the scenario in which people watched two men slam the head of a police officer on the ground, ignore him while he died, and delay medical support until it was too late? Could you imagine six months after such an incident that investigation was still ongoing and no charges had been brought while the men who killed the officer walked free?
It would never happen. Ever.
Such is the outrageous case with Tanisha Anderson.
Family members who lived with Anderson dialed 911 to request medical assistance after Anderson became disoriented and walked out of her house into the cold, wearing only a nightgown, according to the court filing. After the officers arrived and escorted Anderson to their car, the family says, she began to panic. Family members allege that Aldridge then grabbed Anderson, "slammed her to the sidewalk, and pushed her face into the pavement," and then pressed his knee on her back and handcuffed her, while Myers assisted in restraining her. Within moments, Anderson lost consciousness, the family members said. The lawsuit also alleges that when family members asked the officers to check on her condition, the officers "falsely claimed she was sleeping" and delayed calling for medical assistance. "During the lengthy time that Tanisha lay on the ground," the family said, Aldridge and Myers "failed to provide any medical attention to Tanisha."
As Tanisha called out for her brother and mother, an officer used a “Judo” take down move after having pressed her head down repeatedly in the backseat in what seemed to be a “smothering” manner, Joell Anderson said.
Joell says that after she hit her head on the concrete, and the officer placed his knee on her back, she never opened her eyes or spoke another word.
To add insult to injury, Joell says that his sister’s sundress was lifted above her waist, where it remained as officers refused to administer any aid to the unconscious woman. Joell says that he was forced to go over and use his own jacket to cover her naked lower body, because police would not, even when he asked them to.
In spite of Tanisha's death being ruled a homicide, the so-called investigation drags on and on—much like the case against the Cleveland police officers who killed Tamir Rice 10 days after her death.
The officers who killed Tamir haven't even been interviewed yet, and it makes one wonder if the officers in the Anderson case have ever been interviewed.
What exactly is being investigated? The autopsy was released months ago. Only a few witnesses exist. These artificial delays are just another injustice forced upon the family of Tanisha Anderson.