Kayla’s case should be heard before a jury! PACK THE COURT for oral arguments on January 9, 2020

Dear Friends,

The Moore family’s 9th circuit appeal in their case against the City of Berkeley and the cops who killed Kayla has been scheduled for oral arguments to be heard on January 9, 2020.

After Judge Breyer’s decision in March 2018 to throw out the entire case without letting the evidence go before a jury, the family decided to appeal. It is their belief, and ours, that the overwhelming amount of conflicting evidence in the case—including the cops changing their stories, as well as experts disagreeing about the cause of death—necessitates that the case go before a jury. Legally, the judge cannot simply decide that he likes one argument more than another one; that is for the jury to decide.

Unfortunately, we know that if Kayla were here with us today, she would tell us a countervailing narrative to the cops’ stories. But even still, the evidence that we do have points to the fact that the City and the cops are at fault for Kayla’s death. How can a “wellness check” result in the death of a disabled woman in her own apartment? We strongly believe that Kayla would be alive today if cops were not deployed to situations where what is needed are trained and compassionate caregivers.

We believe that the Moore family’s case should go before a jury, as is required by law when there is conflicting evidence in a case. We are building momentum toward the hearing date. We want to fill the courtroom and show support for Kayla Moore and her family. We demand a jury trial so the appalling facts of the case can be heard.

The court can fit a few hundred observers, and is usually empty. Let’s pack the court!

Where: US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, 95 – 7th Street in SF *Meeting location TBA*

When: Thursday, January 9. Plan on showing up in the morning, like at 9a. *Exact times TBA*

What to bring: ID

What not to bring: Don’t bring anything you aren’t supposed to bring on an airplane (substances, sharp objects, etc.)

Other ways to help

• Tell your friends and networks to show up on 1/9
• Share or endorse our demands: https://justiceforkaylamoore.wordpress.com/demands/
• Ask your organization to make a statement of solidarity and share it with their networks
• Can someone from your organization speak at our pre-court gathering?
• Do you know any musicians or entertainers who would perform at our pre-court gathering?
• Organize with the Justice 4 Kayla Moore coalition! Email us at justice4kaylamoore@gmail.com 

December 5, 2019December 7, 2019 by justice4kaylamoore

Meet with Moore Family Lawyer on December 2 at 6p to Discuss Recent Developments in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Justice 4 Kayla supporters,

After the outrageous decision by Judge Breyer to throw out the entire case, the family’s appeal has finally been scheduled for a hearing for oral arguments:

January 9, 9am – throughout the day at 95 Seventh Street
James R. Browning US Courthouse SF. (Courtroom 3, 3rd Flr. Rm. 307)
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!

Oral argument is an incredibly important hearing, as both sides will be laying out the arguments of the case. We need as many people as possible to show up in court to ensure our community presence is felt.

Leading up to the case, we will be organizing for court support, as well as for the campaign for justice in general. If you are interested in learning more or organizing with the coalition, please come to the meeting with the Moore family lawyer on December 2 at 6p to discuss what will happen at the hearing and the strategy for the case.

In February, it will be seven long years since Kayla’s life was taken at the hands of the Berkeley police. Join us in building support for the family and our community as the appeals hearing approaches!

November 24, 2019December 5, 2019 by justice4kaylamoore

As Judge Rules on Side of Injustice, Family of Kayla Moore Vows to Continue Fight with Appeal

To all Kayla Moore supporters,

As you may know by now, Federal Court Judge Charles Breyer recently ruled in favor of the City of Berkeley and dismissed the case brought by the family of Kayla Moore. The judge thinks that we don’t have enough evidence to prove that the police “mistook her disability for a crime”. (See full ruling here, but content warning for transphobia and misgendering of Kayla). It was already so disgraceful that the judge threw out the claims of excessive force and wrongful arrest back in October of 2017. This most recent discarding of the humanity of people with disabilities is also what we are up against. Maybe this is actually better because now we can go back to the arguments about all three of the main claims and widen this movement back up again.

Yes it hurts. Yes it is outrageous. Yes, we are disappointed, but you know we will never give up. So hell yes, we will appeal. This case is strong and they only win if we give up and we will never give up our fight for justice. They say it will take two years to get back into a courtroom, but that’s okay. It’s been five years that we have been struggling for justice. Kayla’s family has been relentlessly attending workshops and public spaces and speaking out about Kayla Moore and the disregard and the hate that caused her death. We will continue to fight for the rights of those with mental health disabilities, transgender women, African Americans, and all of us. We will not be deterred by a biased justice system, or a corrupt, oppressive, decaying governmental structure that is falling down all around us.

We must hang on to our beautiful vision of justice and fight for it each day… and to that end, we invite you to join us in the coming weeks at two events to celebrate Kayla’s life:

TUESDAY, April 17: A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR KAYLA MOORE

6 p.m. – 9 p.m. @ Martin Luther King Jr. Park (Near Allston Way), Berkeley

We invite you to a party in celebration of what would have been. Help us celebrate Kayla Moore’s 47th birthday! Five years have passed since Berkeley police killed Kayla. Let’s celebrate her life, keep her memory alive, and #SayHerName.

Check out the Facebook Event page!

SUNDAY, April 15: BIRTHDAY ART BUILD

11 a.m. – 3 p.m. @ the Grassroots House (2022 Blake St. in Berkeley)

Help us make art for Kayla’s Birthday celebration! There will be materials to make posters and other decorations, but feel free to bring your own materials to add your own flare! Find the Facebook Event page here!

 

April 6, 2018December 5, 2019 by justice4kaylamoore

Reportback from Court, 10/18/2017: Family and Supporters Fight On as City Aims to Evade Responsibility

On Wednesday October 18, more than two dozen folks showed up to attend what was supposed to be a final pretrial evidentiary hearing before the Moore family’s trial start-date. We gathered outside beforehand for a few words from Maria Moore and from Rev. Terry De Grace Morris. We then went into court, expecting the judge, Charles Breyer, to rule on what types of evidence would be fair game for each legal team to use in court, including which witnesses could be called in. Instead, the judge announced that the day’s evidentiary hearing would be postponed, along with the trial dates, until a to-be-determined date.

Wednesday’s hearing was just the latest in delay after delay from the City’s attorneys, trying to sweep Kayla’s life, and her death, under the rug. At court Wednesday we learned that:

• The City has filed a memo which, according to the judge, is essentially a motion to have the case dismissed. The family’s legal team will have the chance to respond to the memo, but if the judge ends up siding with the City, he will call off the case.
• From the start of the case, the City failed to provide the family’s lawyer with a clearly crucial document, BPD’s own ADA policy.
• Before the case even makes it before a jury, the family’s lawyer is being asked not only to identify accommodations which officers could have made for Kayla, but also to outline precisely how those accommodations would have made a difference in the outcome of BPD’s encounter with Kayla.

After four years of the Moore family awaiting their jury trial, it is infuriating that the City is delaying things further, placing the burden of proof on the family’s lawyer to answer the question: How could accommodations have saved Kayla’s life? The answer is simple: Anyone knowledgeable about mental health knows that a compassionate response to crisis saves lives. Kayla would be alive today if the City had provided a truly appropriate accommodation: an alternative dispatch, entirely independent from the police department, that sends community-based compassionate responders would have ensured that Kayla got the care she needed.

We can’t be too shocked that the City continues to try and shut down our struggle for justice, for acknowledgement, and for resources—separate from police—that offer actual care and support. Nor are we shocked that the judge says he is hesitant to move forward with the trial because it will be “expensive,” rather than recognizing how essential this case if from a justice standpoint. But we can be sure that we’ll keep fighting—for our lives, for our communities, and for Kayla, who, in any just, compassionate and disability-affirming city, would still be here with us today.

With the trial dates up in the air yet again, we encourage you to sign up for text alerts! We need to be ready to show up, once the dates get announced.

Text JUSTICE4KAYLA to 33222 to be notified of dates/times once they get announced!

October 19, 2017December 5, 2019 by justice4kaylamoore

Support the Moore Family in Court & Beyond

Please join us in supporting the Moore family and demanding an end to the continued criminalization of and violence against Black, trans and disabled people in our communities.

Here’s what you can do:

• Get ready to show up for court support – Stay tuned to find out about new court dates/times as soon as they are announced:
  • Text alerts: Text JUSTICE4KAYLA to 33222  (Our recommended method!)
  • Stay tuned to our Court Support Event on Facebook
  • Check the judge’s calendar
    
• Provide or request rides, food and accessibility support  – Sign up here noting the types of support you need or can offer and we’ll check with you about your availability once we know the court dates.
• Come to meetings: Contact justice4kaylamoore@gmail.com for more information.

October 19, 2017October 20, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore

Berkeley Police and the “Pinkwashing” of Lethal Transphobia

Solidarity to comrades in Washington D.C. who called out policing as the racist, transphobic, toxic institution that it is.  #NoJusticeNoPride

At first blush, it seems like a wonderful step forward. In a June 1^st memo, Berkeley police were being encouraged by their chief to take a stand for LGBTQ rights. According to the memo from Chief Greenwood, BPD was going to display a Pride flag in the lobby of the Public Safety building, encourage sworn officers to wear Pride lapel pins, and the BPD would be marching in the San Francisco Pride Parade, in uniform, right behind the SFPD contingent.

This all seems so marvelous and progressive! Who could criticize such a robust display of support? However, when asked questions to find the substance behind this, the show of support becomes, well… just a show.

At the June 14^th Police Review Commission meeting, the chief was asked whether officers were being paid to attend the event in uniform or not. The chief replied, “I don’t know”. (Doesn’t know or doesn’t want to say?) The chief was also asked whether this display represented any new trainings or professional development for officers – that is, whether this display of supposed support would translate into any tangible benefits for Berkeley’s LGBTQ communities. He said “no”.

One can only wonder whether this display of “support” is being done in an effort to pinkwash the department’s reputation before the start of the trial of BPD officers in the in-custody death of Kayla Moore which is scheduled to begin in October. Kayla Moore was an African American, transgender woman who was killed in her own home by BPD officers on February 13^th 2013.

The crimes against Kayla were appalling and activists are convinced that the gross disregard for her life and her rights was due, in part, to the transphobia of officers who referred to Kayla using a transphobic slur as she lay dying after being abused by BPD officers. Her pleas for help were ignored as officers turned a plea for assistance from a friend of Kayla’s into a death sentence.

Join the Justice 4 Kayla Moore Coalition this Friday at the SF Trans March, where we’ll be lifting up our pride in trans resistance and true community support and safety – NOT pride in the police departments that criminalize, traumatize and destroy the lives of so many trans people of color. Check out and share our contingent event page on Facebook!

***And don’t forget to visit the OFFICIAL TRANS MARCH event page as well, and read the GUIDELINES for attendees, especially allies!***

June 20, 2017June 27, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore

Tell the City of Berkeley: Mental Health Crisis is NOT a Crime!

This Thursday, the Berkeley Mental Health Commission will be hearing input on the city’s plan for what to do with Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funds, which total $25 million dollars over a 3 year period.

Join the Justice 4 Kayla Moore Coalition in urging the MHSA Advisory Committee and the City as a whole to direct these funds toward mental health services that decriminalize mental illness and disabilities.

Send this sample email to send to Karen Klatt, MHSA Coordinator, by THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 22nd. We encourage you to add your own experiences and input:

Dear Ms. Klatt,

It is time to stop criminalizing mental health disabilities in Berkeley. I urge the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Advisory Committee to incorporate this goal into the MHSA 3-Year Plan and to fund programs that limit police interaction with consumers and instead offer non-police responses to meet our community’s mental health needs.

Berkeley mental health resources are currently so lacking that crisis support often falls to the police. In fact, 35% of Berkeley police calls are mental health related. When police officers respond to a mental health crisis, they bring weapons, dangerous restraints and a militaristic attitude to a situation that calls for a social worker or counselor trained in de-escalation and emotional support. While Berkeley is home to many skilled community members with countless hours of mental health intervention training, we regularly rely on police officers who complete a mere eight-hour training. It is not common sense to count on police to provide mental health care.

When we use police as first responders to crisis, we risk the lives of dear community members. According to a 2015 report by the Treatment Advocacy Center, a person with a mental health disability is 16 times more likely than another civilian to be killed by police when approached by law enforcement. Here in Berkeley, Kayla Moore was killed by BPD officers in 2013 while she was in crisis.

Our city relies heavily on the police to intervene in crises, in part due to the misconception that people with mental health disabilities are violent. Most people with mental health disabilities are not violent, and are in fact more likely than the general population to be victims of violence, whether that be in their homes, on the streets or at the hands of police officers. When Berkeley police killed Kayla Moore, she was in her own home, cooking dinner, accompanied by a caretaker, posing a danger to no one. With appropriate mental health services in Berkeley, Kayla’s tragic death could have been avoided.

Minimizing contact with the police would also minimize contact with the further-traumatizing criminal justice system. Twenty to twenty-five percent of individuals jailed in Alameda County live with at least one mental health disability. Berkeley’s model of police-first crisis response means that individuals in need of care and crisis support instead get locked up and further traumatized. This traumatization costs our city far more in the long run than preventive care.

Berkeley’s lack of accessible, preventative mental health services means that individuals in need get cops and jails instead of care. It’s time for Berkeley’s mental health programs to prioritize community support and minimize police involvement. The MHSA 3-Year Plan can lead us forward on this path by incorporating the following:

• 24-hour crisis response team, accessed via independent non-police dispatch, consisting of peers with lived experience and mental health professionals.
  (Refer to the work of CAHOOTS in Eugene, OR)
• Permanent low- and no-income supportive housing that connects individuals with a mental health support system to help prevent and respond to crisis, minimizing risk of police contact.
  
• Community education to train Berkeley residents, workers and businesses in mental health basics and crisis response skills in order to reduce unnecessary calls to 911. (Refer to Mental Health Association of SF’s Supportive Crisis Response Training, EmotionalCPR, and Concrn’s volunteer-based crisis response in SF)
  
• Commitment to hire peers in staff and leadership positions in all MHSA programs, including the Homeless Outreach Team.

We cannot allow another tragedy like Kayla’s to happen in our city. Please consider incorporating these comments into the mental health plan.

Sincerely,

Name:______________________________________________________________
Phone:_________________________
Email:______________________________________________________
Neighborhood/Zip code/Address:__________________________________________

June 17, 2017June 17, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore

Coming Soon! What Can Mental Health Crisis Response Look Like Without Police?

On Saturday, April 8th, join the Justice 4 Kayla Moore Coalition and Berkeley Copwatch for a forum featuring individuals and organizations who are fighting for, building and living out mental health alternatives to the police. We will also discuss next steps for our campaign to fight for changes in how our communities and the City of Berkeley approach mental health crises. Come at 12:30pm in time for refreshments and to check out tables from community groups!

See you on the 8th! Here are details:

Responding to Mental Health Crises without Berkeley Police: A Community Forum
~Click here for Facebook Event~
When: Saturday, April 8, 2017, 12:30pm – 4:30pm
Where: 1924 Cedar St, Berkeley (Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists)
~ Refreshments provided ~ Wheelchair accessible ~
~ Low-scent space (please refrain from wearing scented products) ~

Accessibility info: The space is wheelchair accessible and we will have a scent-free seating area during the large-group portion of the event. Please contact us (see below) by March 31st to let us know what your access needs are.

Need a ride? Contact us (info below) to check availability of rides from North Berkeley BART or downtown Berkeley. We want you to be able to come – please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Contact: justice4kaylamoore@gmail.com | 510-224-5950 facebook.com/justice4kaylamoore

March 31, 2017March 31, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore

TRIAL TO BEGIN OCT 23 2017 AS MOORE FAMILY SEEKS JUSTICE

March 17, 2017, San Francisco – This morning, we gathered in court with the Moore family to hear the long-awaited announcement of the start date in the family’s suit against the City of Berkeley and the BPD officers who were responsible for criminalizing, unjustly arresting, and killing Kayla Moore in 2013.

The family will head to court on October 23, 2017, with a final pre-trial conference to take place first on October 17. Save those dates so we can be there in full supportive force on October 23rd! The judge expects the trial to last 5 days.

In the meantime, the struggle continues outside the court. Please join us on April 8th as we gather to learn and share knowledge about mental health alternatives to the police. (See details on Facebook.)

As the family’s lawyers will be illustrating in court,  BPD officers failed to accommodate Kayla’s mental health disability. With 35% of Berkeley police calls related to mental health, this failure occurs on a daily basis and we’ve had enough. Join us on April 8th to shift the conversation: We don’t just want training for cops, we want to end the practice of using police as first responders in the first place. It’s time for crisis support that offers care, not violent and deadly criminalization.

March 17, 2017March 26, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore

An Update on the Kayla Moore Case: Trial Start Date to be Announced THIS Friday!

First off, hope to see folks on the Moore family’s next court date, this Friday! Check out the Facebook event here. Secondly, with a final pre-trial court date approaching this Friday, here are a few updates on the status of the Moore family’s case:

Which parts of the case will the judge hear?

Last year, the City of Berkeley’s lawyer filed a “motion for summary judgment” to try and get the family’s case thrown out – and out of public sight – before even going to trial. In October, Judge Breyer made an initial decision to partly grant this motion by throwing out all but one of the family’s claims. Refusing to accept this compromised form of justice, the Moore family filed an appeal, insisting that the judge hear the full case. Recently, Judge Breyer announced his decision NOT to grant the family’s appeal. So, unfortunately and incomprehensibly, this means that in this trial the judge will not look at Berkeley cops’ use of excessive force, or at their use of a faulty, unconfirmed warrant. However, the Judge will still be hearing the case. He will look at the very important remaining claim, which centers on how the cops involved violated the ADA by violently interacting with Kayla instead of accommodating her mental health disability, schizophrenia. Given the widespread police violence against people with disabilities, this case could set an important precedent against ableist police terror if the judge decides in the family’s favor. So, we’ll need to pack that court room during the trial!

What will happen in court on Friday?

This Friday, we expect the judge to announce the trial start date and to decide if the trial will havea jury or be heard by the judge alone. So, this will be a very important day after four long years of waiting. Please join us Friday morning at 8 A.M. to be with the Moore family in court. And don’t forget to share the Facebook event: page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1804532976462772/

Thank you for your support and hope to see you in court on Friday and once the trial begins in the coming months!

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 by justice4kaylamoore