Son of man who died after Monaca police use stun gun on him wants answers, closure

By Lauren Linder

July 17, 2023 / 11:59 PM / CBS Pittsburgh

MONACA, Pa. (KDKA) — A family is in mourning after a 40-year-old Aliquippa man died following a stun gun incident with Monaca police early Saturday morning.

More than 48 hours later, KDKA-TV spoke with the man's son, who questions the decision by the police.

Keenan Anderson Jr. held back tears thinking about his dad, his namesake.

"Just like our talks and stuff. If we would go out anywhere, there was always a laugh," Anderson Jr. said Monday.

He's still in shock. It hasn't really hit him that his father is gone.

"It definitely hurts," he said.

Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said Keenan Anderson Sr. died in the early morning hours on Saturday after an incident on Front Street involving Monaca police.

A woman who witnessed the encounter told KDKA-TV that she called 911 after waking up to Anderson Sr. yelling, "Help me. They're trying to kill me. Help me. Call the cops."

She said she watched Anderson Sr. stumble down the street, try to get into vehicles and punch out the window of a neighbor's house.

When officers arrived, she heard them tell Anderson Sr. to put his hands up and turn around, but Anderson Sr. repeated the same words, "Help me," and "They're trying to kill me."

At one point, she heard an officer tell Anderson Sr. to put a knife down, and eventually, what sounded like a taser two or three times before seeing Anderson Sr. drop to the ground.

Lozier said officers confronted Anderson Sr., who was damaging homes and cars and ranting in what appeared to be a mental health or drug event. Eventually, they used a stun gun on him.

According to the witness, Anderson Sr. was motionless on the ground for about five minutes until the ambulance arrived. The last she saw him he was yelling inside the vehicle.

State police said he went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"He was the protector. He was the person that you call when you need them," Anderson Jr. said.

Anderson Jr. said he's going to miss that. They recently got closer after he graduated high school.

"It was easier to talk to him and not just like I'm talking to my dad, it was I'm talking to like my best friend," Anderson Jr. said.

He said his dad just got his commercial driver's license and was working to become a truck driver.

Anderson Jr.'s trying to understand what happened and wants answers so his dad can rest in peace.

"It just doesn't make sense to me," Anderson Jr. said. "I just don't feel like the situation should have went the way it did."

State police are leading the investigation.

The DA said an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Lab results will take about six to eight weeks. Lozier also said the officers involved are currently off duty and will then be interviewed by state police.

First published on July 17, 2023 / 11:54 PM

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