Protest planned in response to Kayla Moore's death while in police custody
BY SOPHIE HO | STAFF
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/11/group-plans-protest-in-response-transgender-residents-death-in-police-custody/In response to the recent death of a transgender Berkeley resident who was in police custody, Anonymous Queers in Action has planned a protest for Tuesday evening to raise awareness of the incident and to call for increased transparency regarding the investigation.
The protest aims to be an "uncompromisingly militant march against the racist and transphobic Berkeley Police who murdered Kayla Moore," according to a Facebook post published last Saturday.
"In the case of Kayla Moore, whether by neglect or intent the result is the same," Anonymous Queers in Action wrote in the post. "Kayla Moore is dead. The Berkeley Police killed Kayla Moore."
According to a press release from Berkeley Police Department, the department received a disturbance call on the evening of Feb. 12. Responding officers were directed to the residence of 41-year-old Xavier Christopher Moore, a transgender person with a history of mental health issues and who identified as Kayla Moore.
Moore became "increasingly agitated" and began to "violently resist" during contact, according to the release. While struggling to restrain Moore to a gurney, officers discovered she had stopped breathing. She was later pronounced deceased at a local hospital.
In an interview with the Oakland Tribune, Elysse Paige-Miller, Moore's stepmother, said that Moore was known to the police. In prior situations, BPD would bring its mental health crisis team, which could calm Moore down, she said.
