WATCH: LSP shares video footage of Derrick Kittling’s death

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - UPDATE as of 11/21/22: Louisiana State Police held a press conference on Nov. 20 to discuss the death of Derrick Kittling, the man shot and killed by a Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy in Alexandria back on Nov. 6. (You can watch that video below.)

Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Ronald Haley issued the following statement following the release of footage from the traffic stop where Derrick Kittling was killed.

Attorneys Crump and Haley issued the following statement:

“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. 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. Law enforcement officers who act without consideration of the deadly consequences of using force should not be serving our communities. We are calling for Rodney Anderson’s employment to be terminated immediately –– this community deserves to know that law enforcement in their communities will protect and serve, not inflict deadly harm.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

Louisiana State Police held a press conference on Nov. 20 to discuss the death of Derrick Kittling, the man shot and killed by a Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy in Alexandria back on Nov. 6.

In the briefing, Superintendent of LSP Colonel Lamar Davis shared a “Critical Incident Briefing Video.” This compiled body and dashboard camera video from the deputy, as well as one video from a bystander who recorded the incident. In the two weeks since the deadly traffic stop, the Kittling family as well as their attorneys Ben Crump and Ron Haley have been calling for the footage surrounding the incident to be released.

That can be viewed here, but viewer discretion is advised:

The video shows that when Kittling is stopped at 1:18 p.m., he gets out of his truck. From there, the deputy, identified as Rodney Anderson, gives Kittling multiple commands - asking him to keep his hands out of his pockets and walk toward the back of his truck.

When Kittling moves to the back of his truck, complying with Deputy Anderson’s commands, the deputy approaches him.

Deputy Anderson: “Face the truck.”

Kittling: “What’s the issue?”

Deputy Anderson: “Huh?”

Kittling: “What’s the issue?”

It’s then that Deputy Anderson grabs Kittling’s arm.

Deputy Anderson: “Because you’re agitated - you turn around, you ain’t following nothing.”

Kittling: “I am following - I don’t hear you. Can I get my phone, sir?”

Deputy Anderson: “We’ll get to that - just turn and face the truck.”

Kittling: “For what? What I did?”

Deputy Anderson does not ever reveal why Kittling was pulled over during the stop, but LSP shared the reason during its Sunday briefing.

“The officer reportedly pulled Mr. Kittling over for a violation with his window tint and modified exhaust,” said Colonel Davis.

The confrontation between Deputy Anderson and Kittling then escalates.

Kittling: “What is wrong with you? Why are you grabbing on me man?”

Deputy Anderson (calling on radio): “Give me a unit”

Kittling: “Why are you grabbing on me, bro?”

Deputy Anderson: “Turn around and put your hands behind your back”

At this point, Deputy Anderson is holding both of Kittling’s arms, until the deputy reaches for his taser.

That’s when Kittling grabs the Deputy Anderson’s arm that is holding the taser and also reaches around the deputy’s back. Both men eventually fall to the ground.

Once the pair gets to the ground - it’s hard to distinguish what exactly is happening between the two, but according to LSP’s description of the incident before the footage was played, “during the struggle, the deputy removed his taser from his left side and lost control of it. While the taser was on the ground, Kittling was able to retrieve the taser.”

There’s a lot that happens though before Deputy Anderson loses control of his taser.

As soon as the pair is going to the ground, you can hear the sound of the taser deploying. At this point in the video, the taser is still in Deputy Anderson’s hand and you can see the taser wires, indicating the taser has been fired.

But, was anyone hit when the taser deployed?

“Actually we’re in the process of determining that,” said Colonel Davis. “We can’t say that for certain that he was actually tased or whether the officer was tased.”

As the struggle continues, Deputy Anderson lets go of the taser. It’s then that Kittling picks up the taser and the device again starts going off.

Last week, attorneys for the Kittling family called into question if Kittling having control of the taser was a threat, since the taser had already been fired.

“There are reports that once those probes go out that that particular taser is no longer effective and we need to verify the capabilities of those devices with the manufacturer,” said Colonel Davis.

In the angle of additional video taken by a bystander during the incident - at this point in the struggle, Kittling is on top of Deputy Anderson.

That’s until the deputy pulls out his gun and shoots Kittling in the head at 1:21 p.m., just three minutes after Kittling was pulled over.

While this footage has been released, LSP shared that its investigation is still ongoing.

“There is no best case scenario when you have to draw your weapon, when you have to use your weapon,” said Colonel Davis. “So, it’s important for us to understand that this was during a struggle and during that struggle that’s what occurred and we’re trying to get down to the bottom of that.”

Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood released this statement following the press conference:

“My responsibility as Sheriff is to be transparent and accountable to the citizens of Rapides Parish as well as our deputies. I support the release of these videos to ensure the public has a transparent and unbiased account of what occurred. Today’s release of the videos of the incident has provided context of what occurred. Anytime a serious injury or death is involved, it is a tragedy and families on both sides are impacted forever. I would like to express my condolences to the Kittling family and ask for prayers of healing for our community and everyone involved. I would like to thank the community for their patience in allowing the Louisiana State Police to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation. And last, I would like to thank Colonel Lamar Davis and all of the investigators and troopers involved in this investigation for their integrity and professionalism during this very difficult time.”

It was previously revealed that Deputy Anderson was in the area of 7th Street and Broadway Avenue at the time Kittling was pulled over, because Sheriff Wood claims he received a text message that morning that had a picture of young men walking in the area with extended magazines in their pockets. After that, Sheriff Wood sent extra patrol to the area. It is not known if Kittling had any connection to that initial photo.

There’s no word on when the next update on the case will be, but once LSP’s investigation is complete - final reports from the state will be turned over to the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office for review.

Anyone with information and/or pictures and video are urged to share that information with LSP Detectives through the Louisiana State Police Evidence Submission Portal here. In addition to the above link, citizens can anonymously report information through the Louisiana State Police online reporting system by going here or calling the LSP Fusion Center Hotline at 1-800-434-8007.

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