Before he made the decision to release Paris Hilton early from jail, Sheriff Lee Baca consulted top advisors throughout the day.
He heard psychologists describe Hilton's condition as deteriorating and potentially life-threatening. Baca talked to senior media advisor Steve Whitmore about how the media would handle the story if he sent Hilton home.
"It will be a firestorm, and it will be worldwide," Whitmore told him.
Those who have followed the Los Angeles County sheriff during his more than eight years in office were not surprised that he chose to release Hilton, a move that prompted the predicted criticism around the globe and an effort to recall him from office.
Whether he's speaking at a Church of Scientology gathering, approving the distribution of condoms to gay jail inmates or deciding the fate of one of the world's most closely watched celebrities, Baca does what he wants with little regard for how it plays out with the public.
"He's probably the most humane person I've ever met in my life," said Undersheriff Larry Waldie, Baca's top advisor and longtime confidant. "He will always do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. I think this Paris Hilton thing shows that. He knew it was a tough decision. He knew he'd be criticized, but he still did it because he thought it was the right thing to do."
Inside the offices of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the decision to spring Hilton was viewed differently. The union already had challenged the department upon learning that deputies were being searched when arriving to work inside the Lynwood jail that would house Hilton. The searches were meant to ensure that deputies didn't smuggle in cameras to take pictures of the heiress in captivity, a union official said.
Now the department was taking a pounding from the world's media and being accused of coddling Hilton because of her celebrity status.
Steve Remige, the union's president, appeared on national television news programs to criticize the decision. He said it appeared to him that the sheriff, a golfing partner of actor Michael Douglas, was unduly swayed by the rich and famous. He said he knew of no other case in which Baca had ordered the release of an inmate for medical or psychological reasons and said the department had the means to treat Hilton while in custody.
