Reimagining Berkeley ~ Justice for Kayla Moore
On February 8, 2013, Kayla Moore died while in Berkeley police custody. Kayla was a large, Black, transgender woman with known mental health challenges. Eight years later, there has yet to be justice for Kayla. The Berkeley police continue to respond with violence to those experiencing mental health crises. Nevertheless, Maria Moore, Kayla’s sister, remains optimistic. We had a chance to speak with Maria, who shared her story of that horrible night and what transpired afterwards.
Maria recalls that on the night she died, “Kayla wasn’t an out of control mentally disabled crazy person running amok. She was someone in her home whose roommate called for a wellness check. Before the police even checked on her wellbeing, they ran a warrant check. Protocol is to check on the person to see how they’re doing. If you see that they are not responding in a way that you feel is right as an officer, then you get this person to a hospital. That’s not what they did…She didn’t deserve to have officers pile on top of her, without even talking to her. And I’m sure she was scared. She didn’t deserve to die like that.
“When we heard that Kayla had passed away, we were in shock. As a family member, as a parent, you want to know all the details of what happened. We didn’t get that. Not only did they (Berkeley Police Department, BPD) use the media to discredit what actually happened and to clear their officers, they put us through such a runaround for months. The media reported that Kayla died because she had an enlarged heart, random things from the coroner, but nothing about what actually happened.
“Finally, Copwatch reached out and said they’d been doing their own investigation, that they talked to Kayla’s neighbors and the community where she was living. Copwatch was so hands-on. They were the ones who were able to get the police report.” To read Copwatch’s findings here, People’s Investigation: In-Custody Death of Kayla Moore.
“The Police Review Commission (the only entity within Berkeley, besides the BPD itself, investigating officer misconduct), was a joke and a hoax. We had such high hopes. But when you have police officers trying to discipline other police officers, it never happens because they are going to protect their own. I took a shot in the dark and reached out to Adante Pointer, a criminal justice attorney. It wasn’t about a case. It was about finding the truth. It could have been handled in a much different way. But they (city officials and the BPD) left us in the dark. They were scared of the liability; for them, it was a money issue.
“We filed a civil court case. Judge Breyer was our judge, who was very pro police. Judge Breyer wouldn’t let Adante speak. The City Attorney was able to talk. She even went up and talked to the judge when it was Adante’s turn. He kept cutting off Adante, though, and stopping him from making his case. It was heartbreaking.
“The City Attorney laid out her case and told the judge that Kayla had an enlarged heart. That she was close to death anyway. We waited so long to get that court court date and Judge Breyer just dismissed it. That was 2018.
“We filed an appeal in January 2020 with an appellate court. It is a very different process. There is a three panel judge and the lawyers don’t speak. A representative presents the case. Within weeks, we got the news that the appeal was denied. We have now filed a second level appeal. We’re still moving forward. It’s slow and frustrating.”
Maria and her family have been through so much heartache but in spite of this Maria shared with us her vision of what justice for Kayla looks like.
“Sweeping changes within the police department. Not having officers at wellness checks. There’s other ways that we can handle people in crisis. It doesn’t have to involve police at all. We need to have social workers and registered nurses on dispatch. They can route these calls to the appropriate place that it doesn’t always have to be a 911 call. That is my ideal world.”
Maria is one of the community members involved in the creation of a Specialized Care Unit (SCU) made up of unarmed specialists who respond to mental health, substance abuse and other non-criminal crises.
She says, “there’s so many wonderful options that are out there. I’m starting to really imagine it happening and coming together. I just hope we keep this momentum going. It’s been a long time coming. The community is so committed to this. So many people want this. I can start to actually visualize it and see how we can work with the city.”
We support Maria’s vision of the SCU tending to our neighbors in crisis first, instead of leading with armed and less qualified officers. We also envision a police department where there is transparency and accountability. Where officers are answerable for their actions instead of sheltered simply because of their uniform. In addition, we envision a reconciliation process that could bring forgiveness and healing to our community. Will those police officers who were present when Kayla Moore died come forward and ask for forgiveness — not from a place of blame or punishment but from a place of remorse that Kayla’s life was lost?
As Berkeley looks for a new chief of police and reimagining public safety is in full swing, let’s use this opportunity to create a community where everyone feels safe and protected.
Elana Auerbach and Negeene Mosaed are co-editors of Reimagining Berkeley in the Berkeley Times where this was first published on March 18, 2021. Together, we want to utilize this extraordinary moment in American history to reimagine and create a genuine community where more than just the 10% and a single race flourishes.
