Publisher’s Notebook

It’s Time to Consider a ‘Mitrice Richardson Law’ •

ANNE SOBLE

Saturday’s search for clues to the whereabouts of Mitrice Richardson, who has now been missing for four months after being released from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on two alleged misdemeanor counts that occurred in Malibu, was a monumental effort. Search and rescue crews from numerous SoCal counties that rank among the best operations in the nation gave their all in the 10-hour effort.
Privately, however, some crew members told the Malibu Surfside News that their skills and equipment are best for finding live victims not long after their mishaps occur. One grizzled veteran of more searches than he can list said the Santa Monica Mountains are able to swallow large automobiles whole, let alone a slight young woman, inadequately attired for wilderness exposure, who may have been grappling with mental illness. There have been cases where remains of the deceased were not discovered for years because they were hidden in shoulder-high chaparral and were found only by accident when an intrepid hiker waded into hostile terrain.
The criticism of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department’s booking and release polices continues to grow louder. One counter to this kind of tragedy happening again is consideration of what the missing woman’s father calls the “Mitrice Richardson Law.” A “Mitrice’s Law” could revamp law enforcement policies for booking and releases at late hours in remote locations, especially with regard to individuals who appear to be exhibiting signs of mental stress or illness.
The Malibu City Council has already expressed its heartfelt concern about the mysterious disappearance of a visitor to our community who was in its contract law enforcement agency’s care. The council could take the lead in calling for the need for this policy review and promoting a Mitrice’s Law.
Malibu should stand up for revised LASD booking and release policies. Certainly no one should be released from the local sheriff’s station alone on foot, ill-equipped for the elements, without money or means of communication, at midnight. That there might also be issues of race and gender involved in the treatment received by Richardson should also be part of the discussion.
This doesn’t call for what one LASD official said is “baby-sitting” or a potential violation of civil rights. The new law could be the means to make the LASD’s statement of “core values” on the back of its business cards, which reads, “As a leader in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, I commit myself to honorably perform my duties with respect for the dignity of all people, integrity to do right and fight wrongs, wisdom to apply common sense and fairness in all I do and courage to stand against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and bigotry in all its forms,” ring truer than ever.