IMO, LE should have never let any woman walk out the door in the middle of the nite the way they did Mitrice. :furious:
Just because one is "free to go" does not make it safe to go....I certainly would not want to be "free to go" in downtown Austin in the middle of the nite w/ no phone, wrong clothes for the weather, etc....or anywhere else for that matter.
Several posters have reiterated that they think law enforcement has an obligation to forcibly prevent an educated adult
FEMALE from walking outside alone in the dark in the middle of the night after being legally determined to be technically free to leave.
From what I have read, Mitrice was never ordered out of the building. Indeed, she was invited to stay if she liked. As nice as it would be, police resources are not available to taxi arrested people back to their location of choice. I wouldn't want to be victimized while waiting for a cop who was tied up driving some arrested party home or back to the alleged crime scene.
Additionally, I am under the impression that Mitrice was released in a relatively upscale, crime free area--not some high-crime, dangerous area...not that I think it should make a difference in her right to leave.
I find it very interesting that some "woman's rights" advocate hasn't pointed this out. So, are posters (who appear to include adult women) saying that adult women shouldn't be allowed to walk around in the dark in the middle of the night in any neighborhood they choose? I personally wouldn't want to. I'm glad my husband literally doesn't allow me out alone in the dark wee hours.
However, I certainly have some lady friends that would be highly offended to be told their constitutional right to go at any hour they choose, on any public street or highway, was restricted solely because they were females.... And that the police should enforce such behavior on the ladies' part.
Indeed, men are statistically the perpetrators of crimes against women. Shouldn't THEY be the ones not allowed to go out in the dark wee hours?
I have one question about Mitrice's altered mental state. Drugs and alcohol will definitely make a person appear glassy eyed and stumble around. Is it widely recognized that a mental problem can impair a person's ability to walk straight? Sure, the eyes may appear troubled, wild, "altered", but her eyes really look chemically altered to me and witnesses stated she was actually stumbling.
Too bad the pot could not be tested. Even though she might have been under major mental stress, I suspect something was in that pot or in a drink she had that night.
She was alert enough to provide grandmother's phone number, but not clear enough to remember she had a bank card with access to thousands of dollars in the car? The restaurant staff really appeared to try to accomodate her by offering to stay late to wait for payment. Surely, they would have walked out to the car with her if they knew she had a means of payment available, no?
ETA: Wait, I'm confused. What was the final verdict on the location of the purse/bank card?
thanx dreamweaver for the new facts... 
