PACOIMA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The family of a transgender woman who was shot and killed by the LAPD is filing a suit against the city of Los Angeles after an attorney representing the family said video taken at the scene proves the shooting was unlawful and unjustified.
The death of 30-year-old transgender woman Linda Becerra Moran, who passed away 20 days after she was shot by the Los Angeles Police Department in a Pacoima motel, has those in the LGBTQ+ community and her family outraged.
Moran's family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.
"Linda should be alive. And until we end the criminalization of survival, we will keep fighting until no survivor is forced to rely on the systems that put their lives at risk," said Leigh LaChapelle, the Associate Director of Survivor Advocacy at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) in Los Angeles.
The incident happened the morning of February 7 at a motel on San Fernando Road.
According to police, officers with LAPD's Foothill Division responded after receiving reports of a possible kidnapping suspect inside the motel.
Moran's family said she called 911 because she was a victim of sex trafficking and sexual and physical abuse by her sex trafficker.
At one point, Moran grabbed a knife from the motel room's kitchen and placed it on her neck.
Officers asked her to drop the knife, but Moran did not comply and advanced towards the officers, according to the police, which is when the officer involved shooting happened.
The full video was posted Sunday on the department's YouTube page.
WARNING: This video contains graphic images, which may be disturbing to some.
"At no point did she ever threaten the officers with that knife. It was clear as day that she was undergoing a mental health crisis. It was as clear as day that the only person that she was threatening was her own life. Under the welfare code and institutions code 5150, they could have detained her. They could have detained her in a way that was humane. That would have protected her from herself and certainly not killed her," said Denisse Gastélum, an attorney representing the family.
Moran was taken into custody and sent to a local hospital. She later died of her injuries.
"Over and over again we see our city and our state double down on police intervention as the response to human trafficking. To poverty. To survival. Using survivors stories. Our stories. Using misinformation as justification to crackdown on crime. To clean up our streets. Instead of investing the resources they already have into housing, economic opportunity and harm reduction," said LaChapelle.
Eyewitness News reached out to the LAPD, who said they are not able to provide further information on pending litigation.