On August 13, 2014, Tanisha Anderson, a 37-year-old woman with schizophrenia, died after a “takedown move” was performed by Cleveland police outside her family’s home. Anderson’s family called police because she was experiencing a mental health crisis. She was not breaking that law. After discussions with Anderson and several of her family members, everyone agreed that she should undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
What happened next is unclear. According to the police, Tanisha Anderson resisted officers’ attempts to put her in the squad car. She then went inexplicably limp while struggling with the officers in the backseat. Anderson’s brother gives a different account. She was nervous about the confined space and tried to get out of the squad car. To keep her in, the officers kept pressing down on her head. After several attempts, one of the officers used a takedown move to force her to the pavement and then put his knee on her back to handcuff her. She was nonresponsive at this point.
Tanisha Anderson laid on the ground for 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived. She was pronounced dead at the hospital about two hours later. Tanisha Anderson’s official cause of death and autopsy report has not been released.
Related media stories:
» “Cleveland woman with mental illness died after police used takedown move, brother says” – Cleveland.com
» “Family of woman who died in Cleveland police custody believes officers violated civil rights, NAACP says” – Cleveland.com
» “Daughter of mentally ill Cleveland woman who died in police custody hopes for change” – Cleveland.com
» “Cleveland woman with mental illness dies after altercation with police” – Cleveland.com
» “Cleveland police defer questions about training in death of mentally ill woman” – Cleveland.com
