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15 black women killed during police encounters. Their lives matter too
(March 15, 2015)15 black women killed during police encounters. Their lives matter too
Three months after Tanisha Anderson lost her life in an incident with Cleveland police officers, the community is still waiting for answers.
The 37-year-old died in November after her mother called 911 while Anderson was having a “mental health episode.”
Officials say when officers tried to take Anderson to a treatment facility, she struggled and then went limp; her family says police slammed her to the ground and put a knee in her back. Her death was ruled a homicide.
In recent months, such deaths of unarmed black individuals — and in some cases, the lack of indictments for officers involved — have sparked protests in cities around the country, including Cleveland, where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by police a week after Anderson’s death as he carried a toy gun in a park.
Rice, Eric Garner and Michael Brown have come to symbolize the Black Lives Matter movement focused on excessive force and racial disparities in policing. But as thousands march for justice, the names of the women killed by police — particularly women of color killed by police — continue to be less known.