LAHera2024
After a 45-year-old man was slain in police custody last year after an alleged burglary, his family is demanding answers.
The incident took place on July 6, 2024, in the afternoon.
The Los Angeles Police Department reports that after receiving a complaint regarding a burglary suspect inside a residence, police arrived at the 200 block of South Rampart Drive.
Officers were directed to a neighboring parking lot upon arrival, where they observed a man holding the suspect, Anthony Sowell, to the ground.
Last year, police stated in a press release that «the officers immediately handcuffed the subject, who did not resist.» «The individual seemed to be experiencing medical distress and was not responding. The police thought the guy was under the influence of drugs based on their observations.
Last year, police stated in a press release that «the officers immediately handcuffed the subject, who did not resist.» «The individual seemed to be experiencing medical distress and was not responding. The cops called a rescue ambulance because they thought the suspect was overdosing on drugs based on their observations.
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Officers unhandcuffed Sowell, started CPR, and gave him Narcan.
But Sowell passed away right there.
A man in a red shirt, who was only identified as a neighbor, was seen sprinting after Sowell and tackling him to the ground in the security footage of the event that LAPD published on Friday.
Before the neighbor completely restrains Sowell, the two men can be seen fighting for a few minutes in the footage. Sowell doesn’t seem to be moving when the officers show up on the screen a few minutes later.
«Sir, I got him, please, please move,» the neighbor was informed by an officer.
A female caller informed dispatchers that someone had broken into her apartment, according to an audio recording of the 911 call made public by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The caller claimed, «It looks like he is on drugs and my kids are inside,» in Spanish.
Family members speak up
According to a «Justice for Anthony Sowell» GoFundMe started by his sister, Catrina Thomas, Sowell’s family has since hired a private investigator and engaged an attorney.
Thomas remarked, «He had him cornered,» referring to the neighbor who held Sowell. «He could have waited until the authorities were there so they can do their job.»
According to Thomas, her brother didn’t know that Sowell had a cardiac ailment because he was an athlete.
«He was an avid tennis player and a cheer coach, he tumbled, and he was very athletic, period,» she stated. «There was no known heart condition. Traumatic asphyxiation was the cause of his death, not something that contributed to it. He was strangled.
