Lee Benson Conference Quotations

And third, after the family's press conference resulted in a positive ID of Emmanuel as 49-year-old Utah native Brian David Mitchell, Sgt. Don Bell of SLPD downplayed Mitchell's potential as a suspect, and the department again left it to the Smart family to take the lead in publicizing Mitchell's identity and photographs.

First, the department did not participate in the early February press conference when Ed Smart and his wife, Lois, revealed Emmanuel's description to the public. Second, the police had failed to find the homeless man, or identify his true identity, during October, November, December and January, when they privately knew of his existence,