DOJ Probe Sought in Jail Slaying of Inmate Charged in Cop's Murder
The family of an African-American inmate apparently slain in an isolation cell after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of a white Prince George’s County, Maryland, police officer is calling for a Department of Justice investigation.
Only seven guards and an unknown number of jail supervisors had access to Ronnie White, 19, who was strangled to death, reports the Washington Post. White was accused of having intentionally driven a pickup truck into Cpl. Richard Findley, 39, who was killed Friday after he was struck and dragged in a Laurel parking lot by a vehicle with stolen plates.
“This did not happen on some dark, abandoned, lonely road. This happened in broad daylight, in the custody of county officials,” attorney Bobby G. Henry Jr., who is representing the family of the slain inmate, Ronnie White, said at a news conference this morning. “If any one person is denied justice, everyone is denied justice.”
A civil rights investigation is being conducted by the FBI, and Maryland State Police are investigating, at the request of Prince George’s County officials. State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey has said he plans to convene a grand jury to investigate White’s death.
There is no video surveillance of the jail area, and no personnel have been suspended while the investigation proceeds, the newspaper reports.
