A month ago, Linda Becerra Moran, a 30-year-old trans woman in Los Angeles, called 911 to report that she was being held against her will in a motel room as a victim of sex trafficking. Police officers soon arrived at her motel in the Pacoima neighborhood of LA and began speaking to a distraught Becerra Moran. The situation would take a dark turn after police officers opened fire after she moved slowly toward them, holding what is reported to be a knife.

The shooting left Becerra Moran in critical condition, and she would die on February 27th after weeks on life support, leaving her friends and community shaken. The LAPD didn’t acknowledge the woman’s death for more than a week.

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Yesterday, the LAPD released the body cam footage of the incident, and while she was holding a knife, the footage shows that there was no real attempt at de-escalation on the part of the police who immediately reached for their guns.

Linda Becerra Moran isn’t the only victim, there are people like Sonya Massey or Aaron Campbell who contacted law enforcement only to be killed by the same people they called for help in a time of need.

It is especially shameful that news sources are simply labelling her as a “trans sex worker” rather than referring to Becerra Moran by name. All it does is dehumanize trans people and shame those who are in less desirable positions. Because of how much the media dehumanizes sex workers, they are more likely to become the victims of these kinds of violent crimes and other forms of emotional and psychological abuse, preventing them from getting the help they need.

Linda Becerra Moran was more than a trans sex worker; she was someone who was loved dearly by her friends and family but who was dealt a rough hand in life.

Many people from The Sidewalk Project, a Skid Row nonprofit, including researcher Kim Soriana, remember Becerra Moran for her independent-mindedness.

“She was just determined to survive. She was very resilient; like she knew what she wanted and she knew what she liked and what made her comfortable,” said Soriana.

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