On Nov. 6, Derrick Kittling, a Black man, was shot to death during a traffic stop in Alexandria, Louisiana. According to Vice, a white officer pulled the victim’s Chevrolet Silverado over for tinted windows and a modified exhaust pipe. Minutes later, the 45-year-old father of three was dead.
Over the weekend, Louisiana State Police and the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office released body and dash cam footage. On Sunday (Nov. 20), a press conference was held, and the officer responsible for Kittling’s death was identified as Rapides Parish Deputy Rodney Anderson. Vice transcribed a portion of the video, adding that the Black man appeared uninformed on why he was being arrested. “What is wrong with you? Why are you grabbing on me?” Kittling asked as Anderson attempted to restrain his wrists.
One person who saw the footage tweeted, “Rodney Anderson pulled over Derrick Kittling for tinted windows [and] a modified exhaust. Immediately grabbing him out of the car [and] in less than a minute, the officer shot the 45-year-old Black father of three in the head, killing him. He was never even told why he was pulled over.” Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump has followed the case from the beginning. Last week, the attorney called for his supporters to meet him in Louisiana at Alexandria City Hall “to march in unity and call for justice for Derrick Kittling.” Crump demanded transparency in the case, stating that at the time, no footage had been released.
Yesterday (Nov. 21), Crump’s law firm shared an update on the case. “The newly released footage in the Derrick Kittling case confirms what we had suspected from our initial review of the facts: Derrick’s killing was unwarranted and completely preventable,” the tweet began. “We believe that Deputy Rodney Anderson profiled Derrick from the moment he initiated this out-of-jurisdiction traffic stop for window tint and a modified exhaust. Deputy Anderson escalated and demonstrated the use of unnecessary deadly force during this traffic stop,” the message continued. Crump reminded the Louisiana State Police that their job is to “protect and serve, not inflict deadly harm.”
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