Inmate’s family still seeking answers, peace

Funeral arrangements to be finalized by week’s end

The Maryland medical examiner’s preliminary findings ruled White’s death a homicide by asphyxiation. He was placed alone in a cell, away from other inmates, as is procedure with high-profile inmates.

‘‘Right now, we’re just trying to get our arms around the situation,” said Bobby Henry, an attorney representing White’s family. ‘‘We want to make sure the full investigation is done and we want to have the opportunity to lay Ronnie White to rest, and then we’ll assess where the family is at that point.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and state police are investigating White’s death.

Correctional officers who had access to White may face disciplinary action if they do not cooperate with the investigation, said Prince George’s public safety director Vernon Herron in a July 2 letter.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey said he would call a grand jury in White’s death. Ivey’s spokesman, Ramon Korionoff, said he could not comment on whether the grand jury had convened, since such proceedings are conducted in secrecy in the state of Maryland.

White’s body has been released to his family and relatives hope to have funeral arrangements finalized by the end of this week, Henry said. They will wait until the investigation is over before they consider any legal action.

‘‘The larger the role that the FBI and Department of Justice plays, the more confidence the local community and the national community will have in the results of the investigation,” Henry said. ‘‘There’s a cloud over law enforcement today and there are many men and women in law enforcement day to day who deserve to have their reputations cleared.”

The community response into the case has been ‘‘a mixed bag of interests,” Henry said, but added that that majority sentiment is of outrage.

‘‘You just don’t expect to be a crime victim once you’re in the sole custody of law enforcement,” he said.

Prince George’s County-based People’s Coalition for Police Brutality staged a July 4 protest at the county jail in response to White’s death.

‘‘Ronnie White’s life, no matter how sad it was, is to be valued no less, by those of us who respect life, than the officer’s life,” founding member Redmond Barnes said. ‘‘It doesn’t matter who you kill... Life is life.”

Coalition member Dorothy Elliott says she knows what the White family is experiencing. Her son Archie Elliott, 24, died after being shot 14 times by a county and District Heights officer in 1993 who pulled him over for ‘‘driving erratically,” she said.

‘‘I’m sure [the Whites] are more than devastated and in shock.”

Barnes said many people in the community are discussing the case, but few have taken an active role in expressing outrage over what happened to White because he was accused of killing a police officer.

‘‘If we had an animal put in a cage and killed like that, you’d probably have a greater outcry than we are having about this,” he said. ‘‘We are not defending what he did, but we would defend his right to a fair trial.”

Barnes said the group will continue to monitor the case, and that it has seen ‘‘positive signs,” especially with the responsiveness of elected officials.

‘‘They seem to be genuinely concerned and shocked that it would happen,” he said.