Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department on Sunday showed a transgender woman called 911 at the Pacoima Motel last month for help and then shot police with a knife.
Linda Becerra Moran, 30, passed away on February 27 after weeks of support for life, shaking her friends and community advocates.
Becerra Moran told first responders that she was kidnapped on the morning of February 7 in the 10,000 block of San Fernando Road.
The encounter shows that at the moment of the shooting, police spoke Spanish in the annoying Becerra Moran, whose guns were kept at the door as she was paced in the motel room. The video shows them slowly moving towards them and then firing.
Soma Snakeoil, executive director of Skid Row's nonprofit Screit Walk Project, said Becerra Moran was reportedly a victim of sexual trafficking in a motel room against her will.
Linda Becerra Moran, in an undated photo, showed death with weeks of life support. Hospital officials were unable to reach Ecuador's family.
(Handout)
Snakeoil said Becerra Moran was in serious condition after the shooting, and the decision to end life support was approved by the hospital's ethics committee and was undergoing treatment after trying to contact her family in her native Ecuador. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office said information about the case remains limited because “the legality of the close relatives has not been notified.” LAPD does not admit death for more than a week.
Becerra Moran barely appears online, while mysterious figures revolve around how she is at the San Fernando Valley Motel where police shoot her.
“It has such a chilling meaning for survivors in Los Angeles – if they're afraid of calling 911, if they're afraid of police shooting them when they're calling 911,” Snakeoil said.
LAPD identified the officer in charge of the shooting as Jacob Sanchez, a four-year veteran currently assigned to the Foothill department.
So far, authorities have released other details about the fatal encounter, including whether they had detained Becerra Moran's kidnappers when they arrived.
During a conversation with the 911 dispatcher, an upsetting Becerra Moran was heard saying that a man in another room held her to her wishes and brought the others into the room.
“I swear to you that I have no reason to lie to you. Lord Jesus Christ.
“Are they forcing you to do this?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes,” Becerra Moran replied.
Police said the dispatcher then alerted the Foothill Police Department to learn about possible kidnapping and a person who “posed a danger to himself.”
A group of police officers entered the room and asked Becerra Moran to sit on the bed as she showed them her head wound because she was hit by a bottle “multiple times”.
Later, the officer who examined the head injury showed her to colleagues that the officer should “hold” her.
When the supervisor arrives, she will feel frustrated and asks them to stay away from her, shouting to the officer to leave.
“No, I don't want your help if you're willing to help,” she shouted to them. “What is she talking about?” asked the supervisor. She then began pushing the mini explosives in their direction, then grabbed the knife and held it around her neck, prompting the officer to draw the weapon.
As she moved in their direction, Sanchez opened fire and she fell onto the bed.
Like all LAPD shootings, the incident will also be reviewed by the Police Department, the Inspector General and the District Attorney’s Office.
Snakeoil's organization serves the ruthless, he said she first met Becerra Moran at MacArthur Park in late 2023, when police warned a serial killer who appeared to be targeting the homeless.
At the time, Becerra Moran “flees from sexual violence,” Snake Racing said the organization was committed to temporarily house her in a local motel. But she never stayed in one place for too long, drifting between Westlake and Hollywood.
In Los Angeles County, in Los Angeles County, it provides shelter beds for female survivors of human trafficking, especially for those transgender or struggling with mental health, Snakeoil said.
Kim Soriano, a researcher on the sidewalk project, remembers Becerra Moran's independent thinking.
“She was just determined to survive. She was resilient. Just like she knew what she wanted, she knew what she liked and what made her feel comfortable.
Becerra Moran is a devout Catholic who owns a five-pound figurine of the virgin of Guadalupe, which takes up much of the space in the abused luggage she has grabbed.
“She told me she took her with her, which provided her protection,” Soriano said, recalling that at one time, Becerra Moran told the statue, “Beware of her because she and I have been walking a long way.”
Soriano said that over the past few months, the two of them said that they often talked about Becerra Moran’s life as a transgender woman of color, who claimed to be a sex worker while living on the street. To her, threats were everywhere. Gang. poison. police.
Soriano said Becerra Moran was one of the park’s regulars and they expressed acceptance of law enforcement. Like everyone else, she was swept by the seemingly endless cleanup of drug use and theft in the area – the tents were removed, the property was caught and people were forced to leave. Soriano said, but she eventually felt the police were there for protection.
“She calls them when she needs help because she's kidnapped and trafficked, and they'll encounter more violence,” Soriano said. “Maybe she does believe it will be a lifeline of some kind for her.”
Soriano said Becerra Moran was awarded a housing certificate, but “no one has put her anywhere” given the city’s shortage of short-term shelter and housing options. Eventually, with the help of Soriano, she secured a bed in the regional shelter.
She didn't stay for a long time. Soriano said she was frustrated that some of her property had been thrown away by the shelter shortly after the move in. She also recalls feeling unsafe after Becerra Moran was placed in a dorm-style room with three other occupants.
When Becerra Moran finally returned to the street and lost the phone, Soriano lost contact.
Soriano said she continued her outreach activities at MacArthur Park, hoping to meet Becerra Moran again. She never did.
Leigh Lachapelle, deputy director of the Alliance for Abolition of Slavery and Trafficking, said Becerra Moran’s case reminds why police are not the answer to help trafficking survivors. In recent years, law enforcement has announced a step-up crackdown to curb the famous “repertoire”.
“They see them through a criminal perspective rather than vulnerability and see them as people who need support,” Lachapelle said. “I'm worried that this is wrong or an exception.”
Snakeoil of the sidewalk project said she visited Becerra Moran several times in the hospital, providing words of encouragement from the bedside – praying that Becerra Moran could hear their voices from the tangle of a bunch of tubes to keep her alive. Snakeoil said two LAPD officials remained alert during the visit.
At some point, she noticed that the treasured virgin of Guadalupe, Becerra Moran's treasured figure, was nowhere to be found. A sidewalk project staff member hurriedly bought a replacement that placed it next to the hospital bed. When the snake said goodbye, it was there.
“We’re angry,” Snakeoil said. “This is a vulnerable woman and a survivor of violence.”
