Two Prince George’s corrections officers have been placed on paid leave after the scrutiny of their actions surrounding the death of accused police killer Ronnie White in a county jail cell has intensified, county officials said Monday.
Officers Ramon Davis and Anthony McIntosh were placed on leave last week because “with the progression of the investigation, we thought it best for the public, and the Department of Corrections, to make sure those individuals were on non-duty status,” said a senior-level county official who did not want to be identified speaking about an open investigation.
John Erzen, a spokesman for County Executive Jack Johnson, could not confirm the names, but did say two officers were placed on non-duty status due to their role in the investigation.
The county is gearing up an administrative investigation as the Maryland State Police winds down its criminal investigation, the official said.
Davis’ attorney, George Harper, said he could not confirm his client’s working status and declined to comment further. Davis has been on medical leave since he was injured in an August car crash. McIntosh’s attorney, Timothy Fitts, could not be reached for comment.
Davis and McIntosh were on duty and assigned to the maximum-security unit on the morning of June 29, when White, 19, was found dead in his high-security cell less than 48 hours after he was arrested for allegedly running police Sgt. Richard Findley down with a stolen truck.
When first questioned in early July about White’s death, the guards told investigators they had found White slumped against his bed. But, sources say, they later changed their story, with at least one guard saying he found White with a bedsheet around his neck, and moved it aside before getting help.
Last week, the state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide a day after he visited the jail and conducted a re-enactment to see if suicide was a possibility. The medical examiner was not convinced White’s death was suicide, and in his final report, released Thursday, he noted a broken bone in White’s neck as strong evidence of a homicide.
A third corrections officer, Russell Hardesty, was also questioned soon after White’s death, but he has not been placed on leave. Hardesty was assigned to the control booth, which had an obstructed view of White’s cell.
