Justice for Kayla Moore: Community Speak-out! Public Comment Needed!

Special Meeting of Berkeley Police Review Commission to present and discuss the People’s Investigation of the In-Custody Death of Kayla Moore

The City of Berkeley Police Review Commission (PRC) will hold a Special Meeting to receive a presentation of the People's Investigation Report and to hear from the public their concerns about what went wrong when Kayla Moore died in police custody on February 13, 2013. Berkeley Copwatch and friends have collected enough signatures on a petition to force the PRC to have to hold this special meeting.

The People’s Investigation has identified a number of city policies and BPD officers as having both played a role in the death of Kayla Moore and is eager to present these findings so that the people of this city can begin the work of healing. We are also eager to hear comments from the public related to the incident, the People’s Investigation or the use of police in the field of mental health care. The People's Investigation Report is a thoroughly documented review of the documents, witness statements, dispatch records, police policies and trainings and other sources of information related to Moore's in-custody death in her own home.

The entire report is available on the http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org site or can be linked here:

http://berkeleycopwatch.org/resource/Peoples_Investigation_Kayla_Moore_2013.pdf

Some highlights of the report include:

* According to the police report, officers falsely arrested Kayla Moore in her own home.

* Up to six officers escalated the situation and restrained her with most of them using their full weight and strength though she was face down on a futon.

* The coroner’s report claims she died of “drug toxicity” but she was fully functional when she encountered police and stopped breathing after police arrived at her home.

* Emergency Mental Heath services have been cut more than 50% and officers and officers without Crisis Intervention Training are now responding to most mental health emergencies in Berkeley.

* BPD officers are using hoods on mentally ill people despite dangers of asphyxiation

* Mentally ill people are four times as likely to die in confrontations with police than general public (Ashby and Ellis).