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Interrogation video released in arrest of Otis Anderson Sr. accused of killing former football star

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax is examining a new video from the police interrogation of Otis Anderson Sr. who was arrested in the shooting death of his son in November 2021 and is currently behind bars charged with murder and attempted murder.

Otis Anderson Jr. played football for University Christian School before representing UCF and making the Los Angeles Rams practice squad last year. There’s nearly six hours of video and it shows the father learning that his son is dead.

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In the new interrogation video we obtained, Anderson Sr. tells investigators from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that his son had charged him after an argument stemming from a dog bite.

“I came home and the dog, you know, he was messing with stuff. I went to get him and put him in the cage and he bit me. So I picked him up, you know, and I put him out,” Anderson Sr. says before the video is redacted.

A large portion of the roughly six-hour video we obtained is edited with the audio cut out. At one point, Anderson Sr. says his son got aggressive and wanted to fight.

“What happens then when he charges you?” the investigator asks.

“I tell him to stop,” Anderson Sr. says.

Police reports have said the fight between Anderson Sr. and his son led to the father going into the garage to grab a silver-and-black revolver. Anderson Sr. told investigators he tried to render first aid until first responders showed up and that he had never been in a fight with his son before.

Read: Apartment pays Jacksonville family $3.6 million in wrongful death settlement

“So tonight was the first night things went to head?” the investigator asks.

“First time. First time. He’s never talked back or looked at me wrong so when he did that I’m like, I was kind of was thinking because he wasn’t raised that way,” Anderson Sr. says.

At one point, Anderson Sr. mentions his love for his son.

“I love him with all my heart, all my heart, so for me to be sitting here this is like pinching myself hoping this ain’t true,” Anderson Sr. says.

Anderson Jr.’s mother, Denise Anderson, was also hurt in the shooting but police said Anderson Sr. did not recall any sort of confrontation with her.

“Was shot?” he says.

“Yes sir, twice, at least it appears to be twice. I’m no ballistics expert but the way the wounds are it appears to be at least twice. She’s fine, she’s talking,” the investigator says.

In the video we have, Anderson Sr. can’t be heard confessing or saying anything about the gun. By the end of the video, he’s seen in his jail uniform.

“I’m here to tell you that you are being charged with murder and attempted murder,” an investigator tells Anderson Sr.

Police reports say Anderson Sr. never mentioned anything about his son being armed or if he was in fear for his life. Reports state that Anderson Sr. mentioned he had the right to defend himself. That was another part not audible in the video provided to Action News Jax, as part of our public records request with the State Attorney’s Office.

Anderson Sr.’s next court date is on Sept. 6.

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