The family of Miguel Estrella who was shot by a Pittsfield police officer has set up a go-fund-me site to raise money to cover funereal expenses. https://www.gofundme.com/f/85yn9-long-live-miguel?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email_m_pd-5332-donation-receipt-adyen&utm_content=internal
Regarding the incident, Branch President Dennis Powell, in speaking with WAMC said, “Clearly, what they saw was a person of color, large in size which, unfortunately, the color of his skin represented a threat to the officers. It is inconceivable that these officers did not realize that this young man was in crisis and needed help.”
HIs sister wrote of him:
“Miguel Angel , a kind , caring , beautiful soul . Who would give anyone words of encouragement, advice , and the shirt off of his back if need be.He was battling against life’s tribulations and those close enough knew his toughest battle with his mental health. Something he’s been dealing with from such a young age into his early adulthood. He worked on his issues as much as he could , he had support, whether it was from his friends, family, girlfriend , outreach community mentors , and or therapists . He even had a therapy dog name Chanel, but it just wasn’t enough. A life cut short when all he needed was help. My little big brother taken to young, he deserved a second chance. He deserved more and most importantly he didn’t deserve to die the way that he did. Please assist us with bringing awareness to this tragedy. To make a difference on how mental Heath is treated.”
Services will take place on April 1st.