Well, I did not ambush the Congresswoman as stated in a recent article out of Malibu. I find it very hard to ambush someone wearing a button down dress shirt, slacks, and a pair of Coach Loafers. I simply attended a press conference that was announced on KJLH Front Page earlier that morning that the Congresswoman would attend. I called her LA Office and asked could they send her a text message asking her could I have two (2) minutes of her time while she's walking to her car, (my phone bill will reflect). When the Congresswoman came out I approached her with a camera in which she asked that I put away and she would talk with me and I immediately complied. I just thought it would be great to post on www.bringmitricehome.org to show supporters that she did in fact speak with me. I first thanked the Congresswoman for all of her help and then went into my concerns with how some of the things were done. A couple of words were shared about it and we moved on to discussing a possibility of implementing Mitrice Law on a County, State and Federal level which will eliminate prisoners of any race, creed or color from being released as Mitrice was. She explained what steps needed to be taken before this could happen. After answering all of my questions I thanked her for her time and left.
Although we learned that Mitrice did not reside in Congresswoman Maxine Waters district but she was willing to help was great! However, my concerns about how things was handled and the importance of what I as the father is doing to bring Mitrice home come from her residents that are in her district. It has nothing to do with credit but everything to do with hope and here’s why, a lot of people do not understand is I have a lot riding on this entire situation. There are fathers out here connecting with me daily telling me I'm a voice and an example for fathers like them. These guys think I speak and write well (which I disagree with) and a positive example of how to handle a situation that could outrage a community. When you have fathers that approach you and tell you, “man I wish I could handle myself like you because I have custody of my children and every time the police have to get involve they automatically handcuff me not knowing the mother is in violation of a restraining order. Yes the cuffs come off and then their placed on the mother but black fathers are automatically depicted as the abandoned parents. I hear stories like this daily! These fathers think no one hears them nor cares.
I'm out here promising these fathers in Congresswoman Waters District, and other places such as the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center that I will not do anything stupid and I will fight my daughter’s situation with intelligence and tact. With all of this positivity and support, we are hit with a bombshell, an article written about me in Malibu Surfside Newspaper depicting me as an absent father, among anything else you can think of negative. Since the release of that article, my phone calls now consist of, "you see man they don't give a damn about us.” For a minute I agreed, but we are back on track; Yes I feel like David fighting Goliath the Giant, but God has led me to my rock, and it states, stay strong and fearless in your search for your daughter and all the lies, untruths, and defamation of character about you against your daughter will be revealed in the court of law, and based on information you have provided, there’s some people who will have a whole lot of explaining to do! God is good not some of the time but all the time!” All my life nothing has ever been easy for me, but I learned very early everything I have is because I had to fight and work extremely hard and I mean extremely hard for. I will prevail, I promise!
~ Michael L. Richardson, Father ~
RESULTS FROM MAXINE WATERS CAME ABOUT AFTER MICHAEL RICHARDSON'S COMMITTEE MEMBERS WROTE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DISABILITY SECTION
Although the supporters of The Committee To Find Mitrice Richardson (http://www.bringmitricehome.org) are very grateful for Congresswoman Maxine Waters assistance, the record needs to be made clear in regard to her level of support where the Department of Justice is concerned.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters would have her constituents believe that she has worked tirelessly to garner the cooperation of the Department of Justice in support of Mitrice Richardson’s disappearance. The Fact Is – that is an untruth.
On April 7, 2010 Michael Richardson submitted a letter to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Section of Disability Rights. This letter included 5,300 signatures from a Change.org petition. Michael Richardson submitted this letter to the Disability Rights section of the DOJ at the suggestion of Nancy Lockhart, M.J., a legal analyst working with his committee. (http://www.nancylockhart.blogspot.com) As a result, a letter campaign was initiated and a sample letter was posted for supporters of The Committee To Find Mitrice. This letter was initially e-mailed, faxed and mailed to President Obama and the US Justice Department by numerous supporters.
The Fact Is – On May 6th Waters constructed a letter to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Section of Disability Rights – A month after Michael Richardson initiated this action. Waters has simply acted upon the countless hours of research that The Committee To Find Mitrice Richardson members have conducted.
The Fact Is – Waters has not shown an interest in this case since her letter to the FBI dated December 22, 2009. Five months later she grabs the ball and runs with Michael Richardson’s resources.
On May 10, 2010, Michael Richardson met face to face with congresswoman Maxine Waters as she left the press conference of Reggie Jones – Sawyer. Jones-Sawyer is running for the Democratic nomination to the 47th State Assembly District.
Upon approaching the congresswoman she hid behind one of her staff members stating that she would speak with Michael Richardson if he removed the camera and recorder. Richardson immediately complied. Upon introducing himself to Waters she stated that she knew who Michael Richardson was. In addition she stated “You’re the one who has been using up all of my staff’s time regarding your daughter’s case.” Richardson responded – “isn’t that what my tax dollars are for?” In addition, Richardson stated “it would not be necessary if you and your staff would at least return a phone call.” Waters replied, “they do” at this point Richardson asked, “are you calling me a liar?” The conversation progressed to a discussion regarding the next steps which involved the Department of Justice findings within the next couple of weeks. Richardson then requested that Waters not go behind his back and undermine the hard work which is continuously places in his daughters case. Richardson stated that it’s a “slap in his face” and thanked Waters for her time.
Again, Congresswoman Water’s assistance is appreciated.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters would have her constituents believe that she has worked tirelessly to garner the cooperation of the Department of Justice in support of Mitrice Richardson’s disappearance. The Fact Is – that is an untruth.
On April 7, 2010 Michael Richardson submitted a letter to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Section of Disability Rights. This letter included 5,300 signatures from a Change.org petition. Michael Richardson submitted this letter to the Disability Rights section of the DOJ at the suggestion of Nancy Lockhart, M.J., a legal analyst working with his committee. (http://www.nancylockhart.blogspot.com) As a result, a letter campaign was initiated and a sample letter was posted for supporters of The Committee To Find Mitrice. This letter was initially e-mailed, faxed and mailed to President Obama and the US Justice Department by numerous supporters.
The Fact Is – On May 6th Waters constructed a letter to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Section of Disability Rights – A month after Michael Richardson initiated this action. Waters has simply acted upon the countless hours of research that The Committee To Find Mitrice Richardson members have conducted.
The Fact Is – Waters has not shown an interest in this case since her letter to the FBI dated December 22, 2009. Five months later she grabs the ball and runs with Michael Richardson’s resources.
On May 10, 2010, Michael Richardson met face to face with congresswoman Maxine Waters as she left the press conference of Reggie Jones – Sawyer. Jones-Sawyer is running for the Democratic nomination to the 47th State Assembly District.
Upon approaching the congresswoman she hid behind one of her staff members stating that she would speak with Michael Richardson if he removed the camera and recorder. Richardson immediately complied. Upon introducing himself to Waters she stated that she knew who Michael Richardson was. In addition she stated “You’re the one who has been using up all of my staff’s time regarding your daughter’s case.” Richardson responded – “isn’t that what my tax dollars are for?” In addition, Richardson stated “it would not be necessary if you and your staff would at least return a phone call.” Waters replied, “they do” at this point Richardson asked, “are you calling me a liar?” The conversation progressed to a discussion regarding the next steps which involved the Department of Justice findings within the next couple of weeks. Richardson then requested that Waters not go behind his back and undermine the hard work which is continuously places in his daughters case. Richardson stated that it’s a “slap in his face” and thanked Waters for her time.
Again, Congresswoman Water’s assistance is appreciated.
Birthday Celebration 5/2/2010
Hello Everyone,
As you know today is my daughter’s 25th Birthday. As many of you know she has been missing since September 17, 2009. I am very positive and prayerful about what’s going on with her. So to celebrate, I will be given her a 25th Birthday party at Leimert Park, Sunday, May 2, 2010 from 4-7 p.m. Nothing sad, because that’s not my scene. I will be celebrating just as we normally do. I would love for you to come out and share a piece a cake in her honor.
Should you have any questions, feel free in contacting me at 310-283-4717 and always visit her website, www.bringmitricehome.org for all the latest updates and information. You can also follow me on twitter.com/mitricefather
Respectfully Yours,
Michael L. Richardson
As you know today is my daughter’s 25th Birthday. As many of you know she has been missing since September 17, 2009. I am very positive and prayerful about what’s going on with her. So to celebrate, I will be given her a 25th Birthday party at Leimert Park, Sunday, May 2, 2010 from 4-7 p.m. Nothing sad, because that’s not my scene. I will be celebrating just as we normally do. I would love for you to come out and share a piece a cake in her honor.
Should you have any questions, feel free in contacting me at 310-283-4717 and always visit her website, www.bringmitricehome.org for all the latest updates and information. You can also follow me on twitter.com/mitricefather
Respectfully Yours,
Michael L. Richardson
Drone to search Malibu canyons for Mitrice Richardson
April 8, 2010 | 9:25 am
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/drone-to-search-malibu-canyons-for-missing-woman-mitrice-richardson.html
A team of engineers from San Diego State University will use a small unmanned aircraft Thursday to search for a missing woman in Malibu.
The drone, equipped with high-resolution cameras, will be able to dip into canyons that search teams have had difficulty accessing by helicopter and on foot, said Chip Croft, who has helped lead the search for Mitrice Richardson since she went missing in September.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will assist with the drone search and helped cover the costs to bring it to Malibu, Croft said.
The drone, which is from SDSU’s Immersive Visualization Center, has been used in the past to find the remains of missing people after traditional search efforts fail. Croft, who is a working on a documentary about Richardson’s disappearance, said he first learned about the drone after talking to the family of Amber Dubois, an Escondido teenager who disappeared last year.
The drone was used in the high-profile search for Chelsea King, a San Diego teenager who went missing Feb. 25.
Richardson, 24, a Cal State Fullerton graduate, disappeared after she was released from the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff's station after midnight on Sept. 17, 2009, without a car, purse or cellphone. Richardson had been arrested earlier that night at a Malibu restaurant for not paying her bill. Restaurant staff told police she was acting strangely.
Authorities have searched the hills and canyons of Malibu several times. So far, they have found no trace of her.
-- Kate Linthicum
Booking Cage Video of Mitrice Richardson Generates New Family Concerns~ By Anne Soble
http://malibusurfsidenews.com/stories/201004/201004010002.html
Booking Cage Video of Mitrice Richardson Generates New Family Concerns
• Mother Demands Information on Deputy Apparently Leaving Station Right After the Missing Woman
BY ANNE SOBLE’
A series of citywide all-volunteer field searches for the Los Angeles woman who disappeared after a Malibu restaurant incident led to her being booked on two misdemeanor charges at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 16, 2009, took place last Sunday but produced no new leads.
Mitrice Richardson, 24, a Cal State Fullerton honors graduate, was released from Lost Hills shortly after midnight the next day with no money or cell phone. Her purse was in her impounded car in the Malibu tow yard.
Richardson had been arrested at Geoffrey’s restaurant for not paying a dinner bill. Staff and diners indicated she was acting bizarrely and speaking gibberish.
Several official agency search efforts, including local search and rescue teams, covered areas surrounding the Lost Hills station but there has not been a single clue to her whereabouts.
Latice Sutton, the mother of Mitrice Richardson who agrees with medical assessment that her daughter might have been experiencing a bipolar onset, and a circle of relatives and friends say they are growing impatient with what they see as foot-dragging by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the City of Los Angeles Police Department—the agency in charge of what is still classified as a missing person case six months later.
Last Sunday’s volunteer search teams were in Malibu, Calabasas, Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Skid Row and the South Central area on a sunny afternoon to distribute flyers and ask people if they might have seen the missing woman.
Family members say they continue to be buffeted by a broad spectrum of official views that run the gamut from being told to accept that Richardson is dead—the “she succumbed to the elements” theory—to hearing inferences that she is alive somewhere and does not want to be found.
Latice Sutton speaks out in frustration about the implications of both views, which she thinks are largely devised to get the family to back out of the picture and cease its ongoing efforts to keep Richardson’s name in the spotlight.
On Monday, Sutton, and her close friend and the young woman’s college mentor, psychologist Ronda Hampton, were among the small group shown an approximately two-hour videotape, the existence of which was first adamantly denied by the LASD, but is now reluctantly acknowledged.
In a conference call with the Malibu Surfside News on Tuesday, Sutton contended that the video “supports [my] theory that [sheriff’s] officers could very likely be involved in my daughter’s disappearance.”
She says, “Two minutes after the jailer walked back from letting [Richardson] out the station’s side door, an officer in uniform went outside the station.” Sutton says, “He might have offered her a ride back to her car, but didn’t do that.”
She says her daughter appears stressed in the “booking cage,” the mesh-enclosed holding pen for the booking process. “She clutches at the mesh screening and is rocking side-to-side like a small child.”
Sutton adds, “It looks as if she can’t make the telephone calls that the redacted booking records say she attempted to place to her great grandmother Mildred Harris,” who has told family members she did not receive any calls from Lost Hills the night Richardson was booked.
Sutton says it then seems as if her daughter is seeking assistance from personnel, and “is being ignored.”
Richardson is said to be tugging at strands of her hair. “Clearly something is very wrong,” Hampton assesses. “This is not normal behavior.” At one point, “[Richardson] appears to be trying to get into a fetal position face down on the concrete.”
Another aspect of the viewing that disturbs Sutton is that she says she was told by Lt. Michael Rosson, now the lead LASD investigator on the case, that the reason her daughter had to be taken to Lost Hills was because she had no identification on her, but the booking slip indicates that she had her California’s driver license and it was returned to her after the booking process was completed.
But what the women describe as “sending chills down [their] spines” was something they didn’t see at first that was spotted by Sutton’s nephew, Jonathan Sutton, “Who noticed that as the tape finished rolling and everyone’s attention was focused on Rosson, a uniformed deputy can be seen exiting the station right after Richardson left.”
They asked that the tape be shown again, and those present say, “There is no doubt that is what is on the tape minutes after [Richardson] was released.” Since that is not a routine shift time change for deputies, the women are interpreting this ominously.
Sutton is now aggressively asking that the arresting deputies and all personnel at the Lost Hills station that night and early morning be investigated.
Hampton adds that there appear to be what she calls “blips” in the tape, which she thinks indicate the possibility of editing.
The videographer who accompanied the women to the LASD meeting was not allowed to film the video with his equipment.
Additional information about the case is available on the mother’s website at www.findmitrice.info; the father Michael Richardson’s website at www.bringmitricehome.org; or by contacting Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031; or LAPD Homicide Lt. Charles Knolls and Detective Steven Eguchi at 213-486-6900.
Booking Cage Video of Mitrice Richardson Generates New Family Concerns
• Mother Demands Information on Deputy Apparently Leaving Station Right After the Missing Woman
BY ANNE SOBLE’
A series of citywide all-volunteer field searches for the Los Angeles woman who disappeared after a Malibu restaurant incident led to her being booked on two misdemeanor charges at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 16, 2009, took place last Sunday but produced no new leads.
Mitrice Richardson, 24, a Cal State Fullerton honors graduate, was released from Lost Hills shortly after midnight the next day with no money or cell phone. Her purse was in her impounded car in the Malibu tow yard.
Richardson had been arrested at Geoffrey’s restaurant for not paying a dinner bill. Staff and diners indicated she was acting bizarrely and speaking gibberish.
Several official agency search efforts, including local search and rescue teams, covered areas surrounding the Lost Hills station but there has not been a single clue to her whereabouts.
Latice Sutton, the mother of Mitrice Richardson who agrees with medical assessment that her daughter might have been experiencing a bipolar onset, and a circle of relatives and friends say they are growing impatient with what they see as foot-dragging by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the City of Los Angeles Police Department—the agency in charge of what is still classified as a missing person case six months later.
Last Sunday’s volunteer search teams were in Malibu, Calabasas, Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Skid Row and the South Central area on a sunny afternoon to distribute flyers and ask people if they might have seen the missing woman.
Family members say they continue to be buffeted by a broad spectrum of official views that run the gamut from being told to accept that Richardson is dead—the “she succumbed to the elements” theory—to hearing inferences that she is alive somewhere and does not want to be found.
Latice Sutton speaks out in frustration about the implications of both views, which she thinks are largely devised to get the family to back out of the picture and cease its ongoing efforts to keep Richardson’s name in the spotlight.
On Monday, Sutton, and her close friend and the young woman’s college mentor, psychologist Ronda Hampton, were among the small group shown an approximately two-hour videotape, the existence of which was first adamantly denied by the LASD, but is now reluctantly acknowledged.
In a conference call with the Malibu Surfside News on Tuesday, Sutton contended that the video “supports [my] theory that [sheriff’s] officers could very likely be involved in my daughter’s disappearance.”
She says, “Two minutes after the jailer walked back from letting [Richardson] out the station’s side door, an officer in uniform went outside the station.” Sutton says, “He might have offered her a ride back to her car, but didn’t do that.”
She says her daughter appears stressed in the “booking cage,” the mesh-enclosed holding pen for the booking process. “She clutches at the mesh screening and is rocking side-to-side like a small child.”
Sutton adds, “It looks as if she can’t make the telephone calls that the redacted booking records say she attempted to place to her great grandmother Mildred Harris,” who has told family members she did not receive any calls from Lost Hills the night Richardson was booked.
Sutton says it then seems as if her daughter is seeking assistance from personnel, and “is being ignored.”
Richardson is said to be tugging at strands of her hair. “Clearly something is very wrong,” Hampton assesses. “This is not normal behavior.” At one point, “[Richardson] appears to be trying to get into a fetal position face down on the concrete.”
Another aspect of the viewing that disturbs Sutton is that she says she was told by Lt. Michael Rosson, now the lead LASD investigator on the case, that the reason her daughter had to be taken to Lost Hills was because she had no identification on her, but the booking slip indicates that she had her California’s driver license and it was returned to her after the booking process was completed.
But what the women describe as “sending chills down [their] spines” was something they didn’t see at first that was spotted by Sutton’s nephew, Jonathan Sutton, “Who noticed that as the tape finished rolling and everyone’s attention was focused on Rosson, a uniformed deputy can be seen exiting the station right after Richardson left.”
They asked that the tape be shown again, and those present say, “There is no doubt that is what is on the tape minutes after [Richardson] was released.” Since that is not a routine shift time change for deputies, the women are interpreting this ominously.
Sutton is now aggressively asking that the arresting deputies and all personnel at the Lost Hills station that night and early morning be investigated.
Hampton adds that there appear to be what she calls “blips” in the tape, which she thinks indicate the possibility of editing.
The videographer who accompanied the women to the LASD meeting was not allowed to film the video with his equipment.
Additional information about the case is available on the mother’s website at www.findmitrice.info; the father Michael Richardson’s website at www.bringmitricehome.org; or by contacting Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031; or LAPD Homicide Lt. Charles Knolls and Detective Steven Eguchi at 213-486-6900.
PRESS CONFERENCE MARCH 16TH 10:45AM-11:00AM ~ WEST TEMPLE STREET, LOS ANGELES
============
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MICHAEL RICHARDSON
Website: www.bringmitricehome.org
E-Mail: applicantmlrich@aol.com
MICHAEL RICHARDSON DISCUSSES CONTINUED POLICE NEGLIGENCE AND FILING CLAIM ON MISSING DAUGHTER - MITRICE RICHARDSON
Los Angeles, California ---- A press conference will be held on Tuesday March 16, 2010 from 10:45am to 11:00am in front of Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration – 500 West Temple Street. Michael Richardson, the father of missing Mitrice Richardson will discuss continued police negligence and cover up, on behalf of the sheriff department. Richardson will also discuss lack of communication with the sheriff and elected officials employed by our tax dollars. “The very system that I pay taxes into is failing me,” Richardson says. Richardson says that it has become impossible to have telephone calls returned and questions answered.
I Always Knew the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriffs Were Providing Me with Untruths and Deception-- So What Do We Do About It?
Believe it or not, I knew early on that the Sheriff department was withholding information about video tapes and additional information regarding Mitrice. Our Congresswoman makes statements about working with the family for the ears and eyes of the public, but behind the scenes - refuses to return phone calls from any of Mitrice's family members. When speaking to other Elected Officials, responses are "Mitrice Who?" It is therefore quite clear that our Congresswoman is not working in our interest.
This is all very discouraging and does not lend to any compassion or leaves me totally comfortless, especially where dignitaries, who claim to know our communities and want to do what is best for the people who reside in these communities. I continue to do my homework and I feel that I need to prepare myself for a long, long battle in finding my daughter because no one is listening to my cry --- now it is time to yell from the mountain tops and do what it takes to find my daughter and I will not rest until this is fully accomplished!!!
I am hurt, disappointed, disgusted and angry at the steps a father must take to obtain the ears of local officials.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MICHAEL RICHARDSON
Website: www.bringmitricehome.org
E-Mail: applicantmlrich@aol.com
MICHAEL RICHARDSON DISCUSSES CONTINUED POLICE NEGLIGENCE AND FILING CLAIM ON MISSING DAUGHTER - MITRICE RICHARDSON
Los Angeles, California ---- A press conference will be held on Tuesday March 16, 2010 from 10:45am to 11:00am in front of Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration – 500 West Temple Street. Michael Richardson, the father of missing Mitrice Richardson will discuss continued police negligence and cover up, on behalf of the sheriff department. Richardson will also discuss lack of communication with the sheriff and elected officials employed by our tax dollars. “The very system that I pay taxes into is failing me,” Richardson says. Richardson says that it has become impossible to have telephone calls returned and questions answered.
I Always Knew the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriffs Were Providing Me with Untruths and Deception-- So What Do We Do About It?
Believe it or not, I knew early on that the Sheriff department was withholding information about video tapes and additional information regarding Mitrice. Our Congresswoman makes statements about working with the family for the ears and eyes of the public, but behind the scenes - refuses to return phone calls from any of Mitrice's family members. When speaking to other Elected Officials, responses are "Mitrice Who?" It is therefore quite clear that our Congresswoman is not working in our interest.
This is all very discouraging and does not lend to any compassion or leaves me totally comfortless, especially where dignitaries, who claim to know our communities and want to do what is best for the people who reside in these communities. I continue to do my homework and I feel that I need to prepare myself for a long, long battle in finding my daughter because no one is listening to my cry --- now it is time to yell from the mountain tops and do what it takes to find my daughter and I will not rest until this is fully accomplished!!!
I am hurt, disappointed, disgusted and angry at the steps a father must take to obtain the ears of local officials.
Michael Richardson - Father of Mitrice Richardson Will Meet with Committee of Independent Review This Week
Mr Richardson has agreed to meet with members of the Office of Independent Review this week. Mr. Richardson will also submit a list of (25) twenty-five questions to Congresswoman Maxine Waters' http://waters.house.gov office as they have requested. This intensive list of (25) twenty-five questions has been requested to justify why the FBI should be involved in the missing persons case of Mitrice Richardson and is written from a misconduct perspective, rather than simply a missing persons case.
The above mentioned request is a result of a phone call received after the media informed the public that Mr. Richardson has never received a return phone call from Waters' office.
Mr. Richardson states that his agenda also entails surprise visits to Black "leaders" seeking re election, those so called leaders have done absolutely nothing as it relates to Mitrice Richardson's missing persons case.
Please visit Mr. Richardson's website at: http://www.bringmitricehome.org
The above mentioned request is a result of a phone call received after the media informed the public that Mr. Richardson has never received a return phone call from Waters' office.
Mr. Richardson states that his agenda also entails surprise visits to Black "leaders" seeking re election, those so called leaders have done absolutely nothing as it relates to Mitrice Richardson's missing persons case.
Please visit Mr. Richardson's website at: http://www.bringmitricehome.org
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