Trans sex worker Linda Becerra Moran lost her life on February 27, succumbing to her injuries after she was shot by LAPD officer, Jason Sanchez. Becerra Moran had called the police for help, reporting that she had been kidnapped. On February 7, 30-year-old Becerra Moran called 911 to report she was being kidnapped in the 10000 block of San Fernando Road. LAPD body cam footage revealed multiple officers approaching the motel room she was in to talk to her. Becerra Moran said she had been hit over the head with a bottle and that she was being held against her will in the room. An officer examined the wound she mentioned and suggested she be placed on an mental health “hold.” After a supervisor appeared, she became more upset and told the officers to leave, saying, “I don’t want your help.” She picked up a knife and held it to her own throat, police told her to put it down, and after she began to move, officer Jason Sanchez shot her. Becerra Moran was taken to the hospital in serious condition and stayed on life support for several weeks while attempts were made to reach any of her family members. After no members of her family could be reached, the hospital’s ethics committee approved the decision to take her off life support, and she passed on February 27. The LAPD did not report Becerra Moran’s death for nearly a week. Executive director Soma Snakeoil of The Sidewalk Project (TSP), a nonprofit that assist L.A. residents with homelessness, says that they met Becerra Moran in late 2023. Snakeoil saiys Becerra Moran was “fleeing from sexual violence.” Some temporary housing in motels had been found for her, but there were not many safe places for a trans woman with mental health issues who had experienced sex-trafficking, Snakeoil says. Leigh LaChapelle, an associate director for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, says this incident is an example of why the police are not the best people to help a person who may have experienced or be experiencing trafficking. They said the police, “see them through the lens of criminality rather than vulnerability and treat them as people who need support.” LaChapelle also says, “I’m so worried about this getting written off as a mistake or as a sort of exception.” It’s clear that the situation Becerra Moran was in was one that was extremely distressing and required a level of care and expertise that she was not receiving from those who came to her. Some people may try to write off this situation because of her picking up a knife, or dismissing the help of police officers, but let me reiterate that a person who called for help from the police was then shot by them. People who suffer from mental health issues or have experienced many traumas need assistance from people with skills, that police are often not trained to have. This is a tragic event that should not have taken place. Linda Becerra Moran deserved better, and so do all people experiencing homelessness and violence.
