Times on Mitrice Sheriffs Dep to Blame

A Los Angeles Times editorial says questionable procedures and a lack of concern for the safety of Mitrice Richardson are in part to blame for her disappearance. The 24-year-old lesbian went missing in September after being released in the middle of the night from the Los Angeles County sheriff's Malibu/Lost Hills station.

Richardson, who was arrested for allegedly refusing to pay her bill at Malibu's high-end Geoffrey's restaurant and possessing a small amount of marijuana, was declared safe to go after being released even though she was 40 miles from home with no purse, cash, or cell phone. Buses don't run at that time of night, and her car had been impounded.

The Times writes, "If that's following procedures to the letter, something's wrong with the procedures. Even if deputies acted as reasonably as [Sheriff Lee] Baca asserts, the implication is that the department's responsibility to 'safely' release people it takes into custody ends the moment they leave its property."

Read the full story here.