Berkeley Coalition Demands Access to Information about Death in Police Custody

Who: Coalition For a Safe Berkeley, Berkeley Copwatch,
Amnesty International UCB Chapter
What: Press Conference
Where: 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley
When: Thursday 10:00am February 28 2013

As details of the tragic death of 41 year old Berkeley resident Xavier Christopher Moore in police custody begin to emerge, residents are asking why this person died and why police are slow to release information in this case.
According to Berkeley Police, officers were dispatched for a mental health evaluation at about 11:50 pm on February 12, 2013, although neighbors on the same floor heard no disturbance until the police arrived.
After officers appeared at Moore's residence the situation escalated, and shortly thereafter Moore died in police custody. Neighbors observed officers carrying Moore on a gurney, unconscious and in restraints, out of the building. In a city that is known internationally for disability awareness, social consciousness and protection of civil liberties, it is unacceptable that a mental health evaluation should end in death.
We are calling on advocates and individuals in the mental health community, civil and human rights, anti-racism and LGBTQ rights communities to demand answers from the City of Berkeley as to what happened that night. If misconduct has occurred, officers must be disciplined. If it was a failure of policy and administration, the public must be allowed to analyze the case and to assist in addressing this breakdown in city services. In any case, we demand that the Berkeley Police Department comply with Public Records Act requests and that they make information about that night’s events available to the public as quickly as possible.


CONTACT:
Andrea Prichett (Berkeley Copwatch)
Phone: (510) 229-0527 email: prichett [at] locrian.com
George Lippman (Coalition For a Safe Berkeley)
Phone: (510) 517-8379 email: george [at] igc.org