A 19-year-old man charged in the slaying of a Prince George's County police officer has died in custody, police said today.
Ronnie L. White was pronounced dead at Prince George's Hospital after being found unresponsive in his jail cell, according to an internal Prince George's police email and police sources. He was not breathing, and there were no signs of trauma to his body. The cause of death is under investigation.
White had been charged Saturday with first-degree murder in the death on Friday of Cpl. Richard S. Findley. Two men in a pickup believed to be stolen hit Findley in a parking lot near the 14700 block of Laurel-Bowie Road in Laurel.
Findley and other officers from an elite squad had been attempting to box in the suspects when White, who police say was the driver, rammed Findley's cruiser, according to the charges. Findley got out of his cruiser and White hit him, dragging him on the front of the truck, police said. Findley, 39, suffered massive head trauma, and he died a short time later at Laurel Regional Hospital.
White was being held in a single cell at the Prince Georges's Department of Corrections, police said. The internal police email said the county fire department received a call from that facility at 10:38 a.m. requesting assistance for a 20-year-old male who was not breathing. Sources said the email got White's age wrong.
You can leave your guesses in the comment thread. Mine? I'm not telling...
--WS
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