When Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department learned of a young man imprisoned and isolated in his Santa Maria, California home, the Department chose not to respond.  Now twenty-five, the young man was diagnosed with autism as a child.  He has largely been denied contact with the outside world since age seventeen.

Sergeant Richard Brittingham barked a hearty guffaw at the suggestion that deputies should protect a person with a disability.  When Sergeant Brittingham controlled his laughter, he exclaimed:  

That would be a stretch beyond imagination!