Newark Advocates Demand Action After Transgender Woman’s Death – Newark, NJ Patch

NEWARK, NJ — EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated with a statement from Mayor Ras Baraka.

The death of Ashley Moore, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman found on the street outside a YMCA in Newark, has officially been ruled a suicide. But after months of demands from her family and advocates, police are now taking another look at the case, authorities announced Tuesday.

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, Moore was found “unresponsive” in Newark on April 1, about a week before her birthday.

Police responded to the YMCA on Broad Street around 4:10 a.m. after getting a call about a sick or injured person. The officers found Moore lying on the sidewalk in front of the building. Emergency responders transported her to University Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said Moore’s death has been ruled as a suicide.

“To date, our detectives have not discovered evidence to the contrary,” Ambrose said. “However, I have reached out to Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens and requested a review of Ms. Moore’s death by the county’s Homicide Task Force.”

“Upon completion of the Homicide Task Force’s review, we will apprise Ms. Moore’s family of the outcome of these findings,” Ambrose said.

Tuesday’s announcement comes after months of vehement calls for action from Moore’s family members and the Newark LGBTQ Community Center, who have alleged that police mishandled the initial investigation and “pushed the case under the rug.”

Read the center’s full statement about Moore’s death here.

Advocates have pointed out that Moore posted a video to Instagram in 2018, where she claimed she was robbed on the way to work, but police didn’t file a report because of her sexual identity.

“Ashley Moore was treated as if she didn’t matter,” advocates wrote. “As if Black lives don’t matter. Ashley matters, and finding some justice in this horrid case matters, too.”

A GoFundMe campaign has raised almost $6,000 to create a legal fund for Moore’s case, as well as to advocate against other violence committed against the LGBTQ community. (See the campaign here)

Last week, Moore’s mother, Starlet Carbin, spoke with Beatrice Simpkins of the Newark LGBTQ Community Center and activist Jasmin Singer about the case and GoFundMe effort in a video.

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MAYOR: ‘WE EXPRESS OUR CONDOLENCES’

On Thursday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement about the investigation into Moore’s death.

He wrote:

“First, we express our condolences to Ms. Ashley Moore’s mother, Starlet Carbins, and the rest of her family and friends on her tragic, untimely passing.

“As mayor of a city that has undergone significant police reform, I am promising a full review and transparency in the Newark Police Division’s handling of the death of Ms. Moore, a transgender woman, whose body was discovered outside the Newark YMCA on April 1, 2020.

“We believe the police followed all necessary policies and procedures around Ashley Moore’s death, but the handling of the case has raised concerns of her family and the LGBTQ community. We fully expect to inform them of our police actions and answer any lingering questions they may have about Ms. Moore’s death to the absolute best of our ability.

“We also want to assure them that we have listened to LGBTQ activists and used their input to draw up the first police policy to treat the LGBTQ community with the respect and dignity all human beings and their families deserve. That policy was adopted by the N.J. State Attorney General and deemed a best practice throughout the state. Our officers participate in ongoing training to engage the LGBTQ community with sensitivity and common decency we expect from all their interactions with the public.

“As Ms. Moore’s death was not ruled a homicide, I concur with Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose that it should be re-examined with the aid of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

“The commitment to the health, safety and dignity of all residents despite race, gender, ethnic origin or sexual preference has been a benchmark of my administration. We live by those values and, once again, I want to assure the family of Ms. Moore they will be applied here.”

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