‘Tanisha’s Law' introduced 10 years after woman dies in Cleveland police custody

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Nov. 12 will mark a decade since 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson died on scene while in the custody of Cleveland police officers.

To honor her memory, “Tanisha’s Law” was recently introduced by Cleveland City Council on Nov. 4.

Cleveland City Councilmembers, Student Legislative Initiative of Cleveland, and Anderson’s family are hosting a press conference on “Tanisha’s Law” at 3 p.m. on Nov. 7 at the Case Western Reserve University law school.

Police were called to Anderson’s house on November 12, 2014, because the family said Tanisha was having a mental health episode. Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers responded. Anderson agreed to go to a hospital before struggling with police after getting into a cruiser.

According to a statement in court documents from Anderson’s brother, Aldridge “slammed my sister to the ground and while she was lying face down, pulled her arms back and cuffed her.”

“We think as law enforcement they were here to protect and serve us, they had some responsibility to show some dignity and respect because she died buck naked on the ground,” Tanisha’s uncle Michael Anderson previously told 19 News.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office was in charge of the investigation into officers Aldridge and Myers.

The officers, in court documents, and statements from the officers’ union have said they did nothing wrong during their encounter with Anderson.

An initial autopsy, performed by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office, determined that the manner of Anderson’s death was homicide, and she died because she stopped breathing after being placed on the ground on her stomach, and that heart problems and mental illness contributed to her death.

Earlier, a judge ruled a medical examiner’s report shouldn’t be considered in Anderson’s death investigation, so the Attorney General’s office ordered a second autopsy.

The city denied excessive force was used.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office was in charge of the investigation into officers Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers.

They were not indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Cleveland reached a $2.25 million settlement with the Anderson family.

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