Cause of murder suspect’s death disputed by guards’ attorney

Family lawyer calls claims of suicide ‘wishful thinking’

A full autopsy report isn’t expected for at least two weeks.

‘‘As of right now, we have no indication to change the cause of death from the preliminary examination,” said Cindy Feldstein, spokeswoman for the state office in Baltimore.

Feldstein’s statement comes as a lawyer for the officers’ union at the Upper Marlboro jail asserted that corrections officers are innocent, and that medical examiners may re-cast their conclusions in the final report.

‘‘There aren’t many possibilities,” said attorney Clothilda Harvey, a spokeswoman for the Correctional Officers Association union said. ‘‘Was it a homicide, was it a suicide or was it inconclusive? It was not a homicide.”

The guards did not kill White, said Harvey, who would not discuss what guards have been saying to Maryland State Police investigators.

‘‘The Department of Corrections has an obligation to preserve the rights of all the people at the jail, including Ronnie White,” said Harvey, who said the death was ‘‘not what the department is about.”

Harvey said she was speaking on behalf of the union, which has been trying to urge the media to wait for the final report from the examiner’s office and investigators.

‘‘It’s like if you have a referee at a football game,” she said ‘‘After further evidence comes in, they may want to change that conclusion.”

Bobby Henry Jr., an attorney for White’s family, called Harvey’s contentions ‘‘wishful thinking.”

‘‘I want to make this perfectly clear: Ronnie White was murdered,” Henry said. ‘‘These stories, this speculation, it’s nothing more than that — speculation.”

The early report came out two days after White’s death, which the examiner attributed to asphyxiation by apparent strangulation.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson confirmed that the death appeared to be by strangulation and called the actions ‘‘vigilante justice.”

County officials also said that at the time White was found unresponsive in his cell there were no indications of suicide. White’s body was not found with a rope, cord or other tools indicating a self-inflicted injury, they said. He had two broken bones in his neck and bruising to the back of his neck, according to the medical examiner.

Harvey accused the media of a ‘‘rush to judgment” and said that county officials may have felt they were doing the correct thing when they discussed the preliminary cause of death.

”Maybe [Johnson] had an obligation to go forth with what he knew,” she said.

A spokesman for Johnson declined to comment.

Henry said the guards at the jail should cooperate fully. Early reports surfaced that guards had refused to speak with investigators in the case, and county officials had to issue a memo commanding workers to answer questions.

‘‘Somebody up there saw something,” Henry said. ‘‘They should tell the state and federal investigators.”

White was arrested the day after Sgt. Richard Findley was found murdered in Laurel on June 27. According to charging documents, White, who had a history of criminal charges as a juvenile, was driving a stolen truck that struck the on-duty officer who tried to stop him.

White’s death has been under investigation by state police, who have been interviewing correctional officers at the Upper Marlboro jail.

Sgt. Arthur Betts, a state police spokesman, said they have not heard of any changes in the medical examiner’s report, but also said the investigation has not been determined to be a homicide.

Glenn Ivey, county state’s attorney, said he has not seen the medical examiner’s report yet. Ivey’s office would be responsible for prosecuting any charges that result from the state police investigation, which he said is likely to continue for a while.

‘‘We’re not even close to that,” said Ivey, who said he’s waiting for authorities to make their conclusions.

‘‘The rest of this is dogs chasing their tails, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.