UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson announced tonight that he asked the Maryland State Police to investigate the death of Ronnie White, an inmate in the custody of the county’s Department of Corrections who was found dead in his cell on Sunday morning.

White was charged with first degree murder last Friday in the death of Prince George’s County Police Cpl. Richard S. Findley.  A preliminary report by the state medical examiner determined White did not die of natural causes.

“If we have vigilante justice, our society will fall apart,” Johnson said.  “If we tolerate these kinds of acts, the courts are superfluous.”

“As you know, Cpl. Richard Findley was killed in the line of duty last week in Laurel.  Our hearts go out to his family and colleagues and we will keep them in our prayers during this difficult time.  As you also know, an arrest took place on Friday night, of Ronnie White, who was charged with the murder of Cpl. Findley,” Johnson said.  “This afternoon, we received the preliminary report from the state medical examiner’s office.  The report shows that Mr. White did not die of natural causes, and his death is being ruled preliminarily a homicide.”

“I’ve asked the Maryland State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the death of Ronnie White,” Johnson said. 

White was processed into the correctional facility at approximately 12:24 a.m. Saturday.  He went through a routine medical examination in which all of his vital signs were normal, he was not on any medications and he had nothing unusual in his medical history.  He was then transferred to a cell in maximum security and was checked on every half hour.  Only the Correctional Officers in the unit where he was housed had access to him from the time he was put in the cell until the time of his death. 

At approximately 10:15 a.m. Sunday, officers observed him in his cell and said he was acting normally, sitting on his bed.  At 10:30 a.m. Sunday, officers came to deliver food and found White on the floor in his cell.   He was unresponsive so the Emergency Response Team and nurse were notified and 911 was called immediately.  White was unresponsive and had no pulse.  They began CPR and he was ultimately taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center where he was pronounced dead.

Johnson said that while the Prince George’s County Police are an ethical, credible agency, under the circumstances, to avoid any perceived conflict of interest, he has asked the Maryland State Police to begin a full investigation into White’s death.

“Pending the outcome of the investigation by the Maryland State Police, we will act accordingly to address any issues in which procedures and regulations were not followed to the letter,” Johnson said.  “It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone in our care, including someone in our custody.  We take this responsibility seriously because we want to ensure that the public continues to trust our government and our public safety agencies.”