The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released twenty four year old Mitrice Richardson at an ungodly hour in the middle of the night from a remote substation. The young black woman, an executive assistant and lived with her grandmother in Los Angeles, was arrested on September 17th from an upscale restaurant in Malibu, about forty miles from her home, when she was presented with the eighty nine dollar check and couldn’t pay. The restaurant staff said she was behaving. They claim that at one point she sat at a table of six other restaurant patrons and engaged them in conversation. That’s really odd because we know people never bother to try and meet other people. And by odd behavior the staff must have been referring to the fact that she was broke. That’s certainly odd to see in a Malibu upscale restaurant. The restaurant manager had to call the police.
When the police arrived, they searched Ms. Richardson’s car and impounded it after finding a small amount of marijuana. Ms. Richardson was arrested for possession of marijuana and not paying her bill. The police took her thirteen miles away to the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station. Her car remained at the restaurant. The young woman was then released at about one o’clock in the morning, without a cell phone or her car, on her own recognizance. She had no transportation and no way to communicate with her family. That was the last time anyone actually heard or saw of her.
Now, more than a week later, the police are still trying to find her. There have been few leads in her disappearance. One resident in a neighborhood several miles away from the sheriff’s station reported seeing a woman meeting Ms. Richardson’s description sleeping on a porch that morning, but nothing else. Ms. Richardson’s parents, along with their lawyer, accuse the police Friday of inconsistencies in their reports and say that Ms. Richardson should never have been released into the middle of the night so helpless. The police created an unsafe situation and handed Ms. Richardson to someone who may have done her harm on a silver platter. The police told the parents that they didn’t operate a baby-sitting service. Police also claimed that there was no room to keep the woman at the jail. But a check of police records show that there was only one other prisoner at the jail that day between 1:30 a.m. and that afternoon. What gives?
According to a statement by Captain Thomas Martin, most of the news stories have focused on her release from custody so early in the morning. But he wants the people to know that the Sheriff’s Station personnel acted appropriately and legally during the entire event. He claims his deputies acted compassionately and did their best to find someone to pay Ms. Richardson’s bill at Geoffrey’s, the restaurant, in an attempt to avoid an arrest. Although her family offered to pay the restaurant over the phone, the restaurant said that they couldn’t process phone call charges. So I guess we’re supposed to believe that the police searched Ms. Richardson’s car thinking they might find the eighty nine dollars in the back seat cushions or something. According to Mr. Martin, when the deputies didn’t find the funds, she was placed under a citizens arrest by the restaurant management and brought to the station for booking.
Mr. Martin went on to say that while Ms. Richardson was at the station, she was allowed to use the phone to call someone to pick her up. When she was unable to find a ride home, she was afforded the opportunity to remain in our custody until morning and leave at her convenience. When she declined, she was offered the lobby for her use all night, but she declined. Once she was processed and found to have no wants or warrants they could no longer legally detain the young black woman for the two pending misdemeanor charges. Mr. Martin says that he has thoroughly examined this incident and found his personnel acted professionally, compassionately, and within the law. But he prays that Ms. Richardson will be found safe and sound.
I find it difficult to believe that the police acted with compassion or professionalism to a black woman acting strangely in one of their posh Malibu restaurants in a predominantly white area by engaging other patrons in conversation. My experience has been that a black person in a predominantly white area is seen as a nothing but trouble. A black person better make sure he or she has their Ts crossed and Is dotted, Xs slashed and Os closed if they want to avoid trouble. The last thing that black people can count on is compassion from the authorities. We’re supposed to believe that the treatment given to Ms. Richardson is some exception to the norm.
So this morning I turn on the news and I don’t hear a peep about the disappearance of Ms. Richardson even though she disappeared over a week ago. What I did hear was more news about the formerly missing Yale student Annie Le. Even though her body was found inside one of the basement walls of the medical building she worked in days ago, she still manages to garner public attention.
The only way I found out about Ms. Richardson is a hookup from Dark Frosty, a visitor to my blog who sent me to Monie on the Outside. Obviously Ms. Richardson’s story just doesn’t meet the minimum standard necessary to become a national sensation for some reason. The compassion that the deputies of Malibu are supposed to have just isn’t reflected in our national community. A missing black woman just doesn’t pique our interests. It appears that if the black community wants to get the word out about this young black woman we are going to have to do it ourselves.
Ms. Richardson’s story deserve the full focus of this post.
There is an ugly undercurrent in the way you insert mention of the murdered of Ms. Le, who by the way is another woman of color and whose group has been victimized, marginalized and ignore except when the story can be sensationalized and being murdered at a Ivy League school will do that.
This story is so sad!! I almost cried reading it…..Man!!!
susan,
There is a very ugly disparity in the way Ms. Le’s story garnered public attention and the way Ms. Richardson’s story is being told. There was an immediate response to Ms. Le’s disappearance. And well after she was confirmed dead with the finding of her body, Ms. Le is still getting the attention of media.
Ms. Richardson’s story is very different. The circumstances associated with the fact that she disappeared after her arrest and release should have been enough to get people’s attention. But people continued and are continuing to devote their attention elsewhere. I find it very interesting that you devote only one sentence to Ms. Richardson’s disappearance and yet you focus an entire paragraph to the “ugly undercurrent” surrounding the mention of Ms. Le. It appears Ms. Richardson still can’t catch a break with some people even after they read this article.
Peace
This story is extremely disturbing in a variety of ways. First, I’m not clear as to why the police searched her car? Is it customary to search a vehicle before it is impounded by the police department? If not, why would a woman being arrested on petty theft charges have her car searched? Doesn’t this fall within probable cause guidelines? Next, if her parents were willing to pay, why was she taken to jail? Also, I’ve never known of an “upscale” restaurant which can’t accept payments over the phone. Progress in technology has completely automated the credit card payment process,..input card# and expiration date ..and it’s done. There just seem to be more questions here than answers….
Yvette,
you read my mind, truly!
Justice for African descent people in America, is not a given. And we must never forget this TRUTH. If you want Justice, you must fight for it. Even die for it. Justice is preserved for only the brave at heart.
Together we stand, we overcome. Divided we fall, we become victimized. Stand, Live, Fight and Die for Justice and you shall have it, and your children will inherit it.
Elijah
Thanks for doing a post on this.
@susan, I don’t think you can compare the similarity of them both being women of colour as some sort of ‘badge’ because frankly no one cares whether a black woman is missing because she is black.
People do care if they are not black though.
The article said she was acting strangely. Did someone slip her a mickey at the restaurant? And who was she dining with that she had an $89 bill? Seems to me that she met someone there, they might have slipped her something and then for whatever reason they left her there… The least the police could have done was sent her to the nearest hospital for an exam or put her under psych evaluation. If she was acting THAT strangely, why didn’t they administer a drug/alcohol test under the assumption of public drunkenness???
I just heard about this sister on yesterday and NOT ONE TIME DID THE NEWS SAY SHE WAS MISSING FOR A WEEK!!! This is an outrage and somethig should be done. As a victim of the so- called police department who aren’t anything more than puppets with badges and guns, there needs to be a clean sweep and or physco analysis and behavior classes for these people. They are arrogant and for them to say they are BABYSITTERS!!!! Their job is to protect and serve the CITIZENS which most of them have no idea who the citizens are. They should be punished because I agree with the parents…they handed her over on a silver platter and could really care less. But…….if she were European( White) it would have been interruptions and such.
“There is an ugly undercurrent in the way you insert mention of the murdered of Ms. Le, who by the way is another woman of color and whose group has been victimized, marginalized and ignore except when the story can be sensationalized and being murdered at a Ivy League school will do that.”
I don’t know where you get off speaking for Asian Americans. In fact, on a per capita basis, they are highest achieving/highest earning racial group in the U.S. That hardly fits your self-serving narrative of “victimized, marginalized, ignored.” They don’t yap about being a minority in a country that is 70% white. Their ancestors weren’t asked to come here, they came with the intention of making something of themselves. They just go to school, work hard, and succeed.
@ susan,
What is “ugly” is the dearth of media coverage. And neither police officers nor the media lumps women (or people) of color into one marginalized group. they (the police and media) discriminate against black americans disproportionately relative to other racial groups.
I am hoping for a positive outcome.
Peace to the Richardson and Le families. kzs
this is so sad thta this story wasnt put out to find this missing person but yet the young lady that was missing at yale university got all the attention in the world. what makes this case different from the rest. she is human just lika all the other missing persons. her family is concerned about her just like the other family memebers of missing person. this is a sad story and i hope and pray that she is found to give her family a peace of mind.
sadly, going to yale makes you more human. kzs
The answer is simple. African American lives are not worth a hill of beans as far as the “majority” is concerned. The Le incident was horrible and got the attention it deserved. We should not compare the two.
We need to address the worth of Africans in America as far as the “majority” is concerned.
Staison –
I won’t take the time to write a lengthy response to your posting because I do not want to derail the discussion of and concern for Ms. Richardson’s disappearance. Instead, I will direct you to a few websites that might help you become better informed.
I just thought you might like to know that Asian Americans, like all minority groups fall victim to unfair stereotypes, racism and discrimination, and they are in fact often victimized, marginalized and ignored.
Asian Americans do speak out against (or in your words “yap about”) how they are treated in the media, by the courts, and in many other venues. Please note that one of the stereotypes that Asian Americans often find themselves subject to, and strongly object to, is that of the “model minority.” See below.
Marginalized:
http://www.manaa.org/asian_stereotypes.html
Victimized:
http://www.jacl.org/public_policy/response.htm
Ignored:
http://www.asianweek.com/2008/04/07/21-film-ben-mezrich-cards-las-vegas-not-the-first-film-to-%E2%80%98whitewash%E2%80%99-our-history/
Marginalized, Victimized and Ignored:
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2006/08/04/community-seeks-justice-fong-lee-shooting
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Lee, Le and Richardson families.
Thank you for sharing this. I heard nothing about this on the East Coast. Indeed both of these young ladies are women of color, but the stigma behind a black woman is starkly different than that of a Asian/Asian-American female attending Yale. Although, I think part of the media attention of Ms. Le is due to the fact that she was found dead and foul play was clearly involved.
As for Ms. Richardson, there should be some outside scrutiny on the behavior of the Malibu police. Setting a young woman out at one o’clock in the morning without any means to get in contact with someone, or access to her own vehicle is downright negligent. I think it’s agreed that no one would ever find that treatment acceptable under any circumstance.
I am a 43 year old White american….and I am sick to my stomach at how the police acted in this case. I will help as much as I can to get the word out about Mitrice RIchardson. The fact that you imply that only black people would care about this situation is sad. Its a human story, not a black white story. How the LAPD acted in this case is irresponsible and a VERY careless act. You dont let a young women Black or White into the night with no phone or ride. Idiots…she was easy prey. SICK.
Frankie G
She left the station on her own accord. She could have waited until daylight. Is sounds to me that the police acted properly in her arrest. If they had kept her they would have had a lawsuit on their hands for unlawful imprisonment. They let her go because they had to let her go. They couldn’t force her to stay against her will. That’s called kidnapping.
Don’ get pulled over in Malibu! Years ago I was pulled over on Pacific Coast Highway for a presumed traffic violation by the Malibu Police. An elderly woman had cut me off and I had to go around her to avoid hitting her and creating an accident. The malibu Police Officers witnessed this, pulled us over and let the elderly Malibu resident go. Upon being pulled over by the two officers they asked me to get out of my car and the moment they found out I was from the San Fernando Valley and not Malibu they put me through the ringer with the most elaborate balance and mobility tests in the world. Mind you, I had nothing to drink that evening, yet they rudely ordered me around and conducted these following tests while barking at me: oh yeah, and the two of them traded off as they conducted their “hazing”: Recite the Alphabet a-z Recite the Alphabet z-a Hop on one foot and go forward Now Switch feet and hop in a circle until we say stop Put your hands behind your back, close your eyes and lean back Count forward using odd numbers and don’t stop until we tell you Close your eyes and point your chin to the sky keep you head back and do not move your feet at all Keep your eyes on the eraser of my pencil as I move it around and try to make you dizzy Walk backwards for 100 feet through rubble on PCH and don’t fall. What is 12X13? Upon passing all their mindless mobility tests. I was ordered back in my car and received a citation. As I was driving away from these Malibu redneck officers, I stopped at a stop light. They raced up behind me with their lights in full panic mode and pulled up next to me and they yelled angrily “Go back to the valley and stay out of Malibu!” At that time I was in my mid twenties, in college, drove a nice car, was dressed nicely, and was very respectful to these officers during the “hazing”. The reason why I bore you all with this story is that I can only imagine what the Malibu Police potentially/allegedly put this poor women of color through when they picked her up. Malibu aledgedly hates and despises all non-locals and this poor woman most likely could have received similar or worse treatment. Shame on Geoffreys for caling the police on a mere $89.00 charge. SHAME ON THEM!I had eaten there in the late 80’s and 90’s and the food was lackluster, overpriced and overrated and everyone had some type of attitude including the creepy valet who was pushing his script. OHHH I AM A SCREENWRITER. NO YOU ARE NOT, YOU ARE A CAR PARKING VALET. I had sent food back numerous times due to many indicators. IS THIS WHAT HAPPENED? SHE DIDN”T AGREE WITH THE BILL AS SHE POTENTIALLY SENT FOOD BACK? Maybe/alledgedly the food made her sick potentially the fontina cheese. Maybe it potentially was the cheese that made her ill. If this is indeed what she consumed that evening. Who KNOWS? GEOFFREY”S KNOWS!. WHAT COULD SHE HAVE HAD THAT WAS $89.00? Hey Geoffrey’s I ALLEDGE you are the ones to blame for this girls disappearance. Yes YOU! TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! If the young lady couldn’t pay her bill, and was acting weird why wouldn’t you un-talented nobody’s call her family to come pick her up!? Just ask for her license. Let her wash dishes or send her a bill in the mail! YOU DON”T CALL THE POLICE ON CUSTOMERS BECAUSE THEY CAN”T PAY THEIR BILL. SHAME ON YOU GEOFFREYS! When I ate at your “dive” your card reader was having problems reading credit cards. MAYBE THIS IS WHY YOU DIDN”T GET PAID because you were too cheap to get a good card reader system and this poor woman couldn’t pay because your card reader is as old as your stale menu and whispering waitstaff! Remind me not to go to you for help if I happen to be in the area and need it. THIS GIRL IS PROBABLY MISSING BECAUSE OF GEOFFREYS ALLEDGED INABILITY TO HANDLE THE SITUATION AT THEIR RESTARAUNT SHAME ON THEM!!SHAME ON GEOFFREY’S! I feel so badly for this poor woman and her family. Please pray for her safe retun home to her family and friends. I hope that the stupidity and ignorance and non caring of the people that had her arrested will be made known. SHAME ON THEM!!
To the parents of this poor girl, I feel so sorry for your family and mitrice. I have 2 daughters ages 18 & 22, if this happen to them I would just die. I will keep you all in my prayers, I hope she returns to your family safely and unharmed.
I think we’re being played by Mitrice’s family. They know she’s in San Jose with The Reverend who she met on myspace. I checked greyhound bus schedule for Sept. 17, 2009. There were three buses leaving for San jose from Oxnard. There was a witness that said he/she saw Mitrice board the greyhound bus to San Jose. Click on the link below:
http://thehourofinterest.blogspot.com/2009/10/mitrice-richardson.html
The mother said in an interview that Mitrice was release without id, but the booking report indicates she had id when she was released.
ReelUrbanNews.com
Always Compelling, Always Exceptional
“Mommy Loves You Mitrice!”
In an exclusive interview with ReelUrbanNews.com Latice Sutton, the mother of missing person, Mitrice Richardson, admits that she believes foul play may be involved in her daughter’s disappearance. “That thought has crossed my mind. I have many scenarios, foul play being one of them.”
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, 24 year-old Mitrice Richardson was last seen upon release from their custody at the Lost Hills substation in Malibu, Calif. near the hour of 12:30 a.m. on September 17, 2009. When asked does she believe that her daughter is still alive, Latice Sutton provides the following emotional statement: “I hold on to that every day. I want to believe that she (Mitrice) is still alive. I hold on to that every day until God show’s me something different.”
At the time of our ReelurbanNews.com interview, Mitrice Richardson was missing for 45 days and according to Mrs. Sutton obtaining information from law enforcement regarding their efforts to locate her daughter has been a struggle. “My contact with the police has been very limited. Throughout the entire process there has been an unwillingness to reveal any information, to get the FBI involved or to expand the search.”
In addition to foul play, Mrs. Sutton believes race may be a factor in law enforcements lack luster efforts to find her daughter. “Be it class, is that an issue? Was it race? I feel those are fair area’s to address.”
I followed this case on CNN,what little of it that they featured.Not only does missing Black adult’s,garner little or no attention.But what’s really sad is that not even a missing Black child…get’s the Nation wide attention they so desperately deserve.As a man I must say that Mitrice Richardson,is beautiful “FINE” as we’d say on the street.You’d think that some one may have sexually assaulted her.Probably even some of the very same officer’s.That released her knowing that she was all by herself and without any form of communication.We can only hope and pray,but all the time that’s passed the out come doesn’t look good.
The deplorable way in which the media ignores kidnapped/missing Black women and children is beyond sickening. Mitrice came across as sweet in the video I saw of her at beauty pageants. Perhaps a man at the restaurant slipped something in her drink; at any rate, she was clearly suffering from a mental breakdown and needed help. The cops acknowledge her words were odd, yet they claim to have released her into the dark of night without transportation nor her cell phone. No woman should be treated in such a heartless manner; it was even more dangerous considering her mental state. If she were white, they would have driven her back to her car or given her a ride home. Many people believe those cops sexually assaulted her and hid the body. The cops certainly are hiding something big.
The Law states that a prisoner is to be released into a SAFE environment, now if your response is, “She’s an adult and cant be held”, its because you DONT know the WHOLE story!!
The call from Geoffrey’s CLEARLY stated that Mitrice was acting CRAZY and STRANGE while speaking in gibberish and stating that she was from Mars. She was arrested for having no $$ to pay a tab while Geoffrey’s REFUSED payment over the phone by her 92 year old Great Grandmother (who does not drive at night) whom they demanded a faxed copy of the card from at 10:30pm at night.
THE 3 MALE SHERIFFS (It illegal for Male officers to search and book Female suspects by the way) who searched Mitrice and her car DID NOT REQUEST a Psychiatric Evaluation despite finding that she had CREDIT CARDS AND CHECKS IN HER PURSE (which she left in the car that night) THE WHOLE TIME! She was CLEARLY not in the right frame of mind and the calls about her acting bizarr where indeed TRUE!!!!— THAT’S LASD NEGLIGENCE!
There are a million and ten lies on the part of the LASD- most recently- For the 5 out of 6 months Mitrice has been missing, the footage of her being booked into the station “DID NOT EXIST” because of supposed equipment failure. All of a sudden Lt. Rosson reveals he’s had the tape in his top drawer the whole time and is able to show it to a few family members yet is DENYING the family a copy of it?
The Lost Hills Station is being rewarded for BEST COVER UP! God will see the worthy through as all things come to light and I would NOT want to be standing next to anyone involved in Mitrice’s disappearance on a rainy day.
I really hope and pray that they find her safe and sound. The Sheriff depart is accountable for their wreakless actions and should be questioned on why they let the young lady go missing. She has no cell phone and i think there was more to the story they the Sheriff department is leaving out.