Mitrice Richardson’s Relatives Turn Up the Heat at Downtown Press Conference

• Family Member Approaches Are Different But All of Them Perceive Law Enforcement Indifference

BY ANNE SOBLE

The criticism by family members of the release of Mitrice Richardson with no money, cell phone or known means of transportation from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 12:25 a.m. last Sept. 17 has continued unabated for the six months she has been missing.

Family and friends have organized rallies, done ground searches and distributed flyers with photos of the 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton honors graduate with the hope of finding someone who might have seen her, or has information that could lead to where she is now.

Because official law enforcement searches have not resulted in the discovery of remains or an indication of foul play, Richardson’s disappearance remains a missing person case that does not qualify for federal involvement.

Even as her parents cling to the belief that she is alive, they have been advised to file formal claims to protect their right to sue Los Angeles County for negligence or malfeasance as circumstances might warrant.

Richardson had been booked at the Lost Hills Station the evening of last Sept. 16 on the misdemeanor count of nonpayment of an $89.51 dinner tab at Geoffrey’s restaurant, after its staff performed a citizen’s arrest and described her behavior as “crazy,” adding that she was speaking gibberish and stating that she came from Mars to avenge the death of Michael Jackson.

A second misdemeanor count of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana— apparently too small an amount, according to the family, to even be subjected to lab analysis—was added when her car in the restaurant’s parking lot was searched by deputies before restaurant staff called to have the vehicle towed from the parking lot. Her purse, cell phone and other belongings were left inside.

Journal entries and other documents subsequently found in the vehicle were assessed by mental health professionals and are described as indicative of serious mental issues, including a possible bipolar condition that could account for behavior at odds with the woman’s reputation as bright, conscientious and responsible.

Because of the release of a telephone tape of a 5:30 a.m. sighting on Sept. 17 of a woman matching Richardson’s description—African-American, five-foot-five, slight build—on foot in a backyard in the Cold Canyon area, there is a strong supposition that she survived the cold evening without a jacket. It is what may have happened next that remains unknown.

The unmarried parents of Mitrice Richardson separated when she was very young, but both of them have been united in their efforts to keep the spotlight on their daughter and not allow this to become a case that falls by the wayside.

The mother’s and father’s styles are very different but they are both adamant that public agencies are indifferent to the case and have not done all that they could to help find her and may even be hiding culpability in some as yet unknown form for her disappearance.

This week was father Michael Richardson’s turn to beat the drums at a press conference held Tuesday on the steps of the county Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

While the father readily acknowledges that the mother’s side of the family has more higher education,  he describes himself as having “a PhD in street smarts” and better able to “take on the system” he says “has failed his missing  daughter.”

He said he intends “to shout from the mountaintops until more public officials take interest and help with the search effort.”

 Michael Richardson also filed a claim for damages this week against Los Angeles County, alleging that deputies were negligent in their care of Mitrice Richardson, similar to one filed two months ago by her mother, Latice Sutton.

The father was accompanied by his attorney Benjamin  Schonbrun, as he gave voice to frustration at the lack of interest on the part of law enforcement agencies and elected officials in his missing daughter.

The core of the both parent’s contentions is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was remiss in not placing Mitrice Richardson under what is known as a “5150” hold, which would have placed her under direct medical supervision.

Whether the LASD deputies who brought her to Lost Hills were in a hurry to end their shift and didn’t want to spend several hours doing paperwork and transporting her elsewhere, or there were more insidious reasons, as the father publicly contends, Richardson was perfunctorily booked and released out the side gate of Lost Hills.

The father bluntly asserts, “This is a cover-up and too many people who know about it are scared to stand up!”

LASD officials assert  that Richardson was handled in the same manner as any other arrestee when she was released. A jailer who declines media interviews says she told the young woman she could remain overnight in a locked cell until someone arrived to drive her home.

Lost Hills telephone tapes indicate that the mother was told before her daughter arrived at the station that she wouldn’t be released until the morning, but she was not told that “morning” could mean a few minutes after midnight.

In a statement prescient of what would occur, Latice Sutton sought assurance that Richardson would not be released until the mother got there because she said her daughter didn’t know the area and could be exposed to danger.

On Tuesday, the increasingly angry father criticized County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Congressmember Maxine Waters (his daughter lived in Watts, which Waters represents, before she disappeared) for not doing enough.

However, Ridley-Thomas pushed for reward money from his colleagues on the board of supervisors and asked for oversight of LASD release policies, and Waters co-sponsored a bill expanding the federal data base on missing adults.

Mitrice Richardson’s mother, Latice Sutton expresses the same concerns but wants to keep pressure on the LASD and the Los Angeles City Police Department—the lead agency in the investigation because the missing woman is a Los Angeles resident—to keep detectives on the case and communicate with the family.

Sutton says the agencies don’t respond to telephone calls. She added that all of the major search efforts have been the result of family prodding. Sutton said agency officials are dragging their heels at the family’s suggestions to employ high-tech methodology in future searches.

In addition, Sutton said she has not received a video of her daughter in the Lost Hills booking cage that the station’s former captain, Tom Martin, first denied existed, then acknowledged having, but still has not shared it with the family.

The LASD is now declining to comment on any ongoing aspects of the case, citing potential litigation, although technically no litigation has begun. The claims that have been filed merely stop the statute of limitations from precluding future legal action.

Although some harsh words were exchanged between Michael Richardson and the mother’s attorney, Leo Terrell, at the Tuesday press conference, other family members think it is counterproductive to emphasize family differences instead of the common goal of finding the missing woman.

However, after the event the father said the next press conference he intends to call will focus on  his daughter’s “journals, in which she talks about some people that are so active in her life now that she’s missing.”

Despite a lack of official assistance, a series of citywide field searches for the missing woman are scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 28.

Richardson’s mother and her relatives and friends plan to send seven search teams in groups of five or more to Malibu, Calabasas, Santa Monica,Venice, Hollywood, Skid Row and the South Central area on that day.

According to a spokesperson for the mother’s circle, “We have been searching these areas, but never all at once. So this will be the biggest volunteer one-day search yet.”

The group says additional volunteers are welcome. Those who want to participate can email: mitricefund@gmail.com for further information.