Berkeley Commission Probes Police Role in Transgender Woman's Death

Paranoid, schizophrenic and transgender, Kayla Moore followed a difficult path through life. That path ended abruptly when she died after Berkeley Police took her into custody the night of Feb. 12. Now the Berkeley Police Review Commission wants to know exactly how Moore died and what it might mean for the way the department deals with transgender people and with the mentally ill. On Wednesday night the commission voted unanimously to investigate the case. But even before it started, the investigation has run into serious obstacles. The police are conducting their own investigation, and a Berkeley ordinance prevents a commission investigation from beginning until criminal investigations are complete.