Louisiana policeman shoots unarmed black man in the head, kills him
4 Min Read
Two videos of the incident presented at a press conference confirmed that the deputy shot Drick Kittling in the head.
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A screengrab of Rodney Anderson stopping Derick Kittling, ordering him to face his car before taking his life with a gun. (Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office)
Ongoing systemic violence against minorities in the US is re-translated into a harrowing report as of recent, exposing yet another policeman shooting an unarmed Black man in the head during a traffic stop.
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At a press conference, Louisiana State Police released body camera footage showing Rapides Parish sheriff's deputy Rodney Anderson, shooting Derick Kittling, 45, at a traffic stop. The incident was affirmed by another footage which was recorded by a bystander at the traffic stop.
The crime occurred on November 6, and it has been sparking waves of outrage in Alexandria, a city with high Black demographics.
Kittling was not told why he was stopped
Kittling was stopped by Anderson in Alexandria while driving in a residential neighborhood. As witnessed through the body-cam footage, Kittling steps out of his vehicle and the policeman tells him to "stay right there", contradicting his order by then telling him to walk toward his truck, which Kittling was already standing beside.
In the footage, there was no mention from Anderson as to why Kittling was being stopped. Even when Kittling asked, the officer did not answer.
Then Anderson tells the victim to "walk over here," with Kittling appearing to be confused.
“Walk to your truck,” the deputy said as Kittling stood next to the truck's door, and the deputy remained in his car, stepping out of the patrol car to tell Kittling to keep his hands out of his pockets. Then, Kittling walks to the back of the pickup truck upon being ordered to do so.
Anderson then grips Kittling's left arm, to the victim's surprise: "What's the issue?" Kittling asks the deputy, to which Anderson responds that Kittling is not following his orders, telling him to turn around and face the truck.
Kittling then asks the deputy if he can at least get his phone from his car. "We will get to that," he asserts, and stops him from getting his phone. The man was still confused: “What I did? What is wrong with you? While are you grabbing on me, man? Why are you grabbing on me, bruh?” Kittling asks Anderson.
Then, the deputy demands Kittling to put his hands behind his back, to which he responds in question: "For what?"
Within just 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the hideously tense situation, Anderson, according to the sheriff's office, "lost control" of his Taser while he was running him into the ground, wrestling. When he dropped the Taser, Kittling picked it up and Anderson pulled out a firearm and shot him in the head.
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The department has problems dealing with African Americans
“Shots fired, shots fired,” Anderson says, then calling other officers to inform them he shot Kittling in the head.
According to the head of the Louisiana State Police, Lamar Davis, Kittling was stopped for a window tint violation and having modified exhaust.
“We are also gathering that information with regards to their protocols, their policies, their training, and so forth. And we will be able to better determine that information once we receive that,” Davis said at the press conference.
"There is a lot that goes into researching this,” Davis said.
“That sheriff’s department under the current Sheriff Mark Woods has a plethora of problems when it deals with African Americans,” Reverend Randy Harris, who is an organizer and protester in Alexandria said, speaking to the Huffington Post. “It’s tragic with what happened to Derrick, but unfortunately it is more than likely to happen again. I have zero faith in the sheriff’s department.”
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