Police Department Sued by Mother of Missing Woman

The mother of Matrice Richardson, who vanished in the early morning of September 17, 2009, after being released from the Malibu/Los Hills Sheriffs station, sued the county today alleging gross negligence.

Richardson, then 24, was arrested at Geoffrey’s restaurant, in Malibu, for refusing to pay her bill. Restaurant employees reported to deputies that she was also acting “crazy” and may have under the influence of drugs.

Richardson was released from the sheriffs station early the next morning with no money or mode of transportation. That was the last time she has been seen.

The sheriffs department says they followed standard arrest procedure, which included impounding her vehicle.

Her disappearance triggered triggered numerous searches of the Calabasas and Agoura Hills area.

The lawsuit alleges unlawful arrested and negligent conduct after the arrest.

“The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department was grossly negligent, and the officers on that shift, grossly negligent in allowing her to leave and walk out without any form of communication with her family or friends,” said Leo Terrell, the family’s attorney, during a downtown news conference Tuesday.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. The primary purpose according to Sutton is to gather information about the night Richardson vanished.

“This magical lawsuit will allow me to obtain every single document in the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department and to depose every officer and detective involved,” said Terrell, who stated that he has been representing Sutton pro bono. He also said the suit would enable him to get a copy of the videotape that Sutton was allowed to view but not take.

The videotape, taken at the sheriffs station, reportedly shows Richardson behaving erratically prior to her release.

Her mother, who said she continues to search for her daughter, gave a more complicated answer: “My hope is she’s alive…. But based on how long she’s been missing, she’s either being held and transported or she’s dead. I have to face that possibility.”