Needless to say, their reported run-in with law enforcement officials raises several questions: Why were they detained? What right did the police have? What justification was there for this incident?

Unfortunately, however, Mitchell decided to take an already alarming situation and made it worse by suggesting — with zero evidence — that race might have played a role.

Considering the fact that tensions are already high in Ferguson over the shooting death of Brown, who was reportedly unarmed when he was killed by a police officer, and considering the fact that Lowery is African-American, Mitchell’s suggestion that he might have been detained because of the color of his skin is gross, demeaning, dangerous and totally irresponsible.

It’s the sort of garbage you’d expect from one of her lesser colleagues, from one of MSNBC’s late night carnival barkers. It’s not the sort of thing that you’d expect from NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent.