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Jul 3, 2008 1:44 pm US/Eastern
Investigation Continues As Officer Laid To Rest
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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Cpl. Richard Findley was struck and killed during a traffic stop Friday by the driver of a stolen pickup truck.
CBS
Friends and family say their last goodbye to Prince George's County Police Cpl. Richard Findley.
Findley was struck and killed during a traffic stop Friday by the driver of a stolen pickup truck. The suspect, 19-year-old Ronnie White of Laurel, was found dead in his jail cell Sunday. White's death was ruled a homicide.
The service for Findley was held Wednesday at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church on Montgomery Road in Beltsville. He was a 10-year veteran of the Prince George's County police department.
In the meantime, Ronnie White's death is being investigated as a homicide by the FBI and Maryland State Police. He died Sunday in the Prince George's County Correctional Center from asphyxiation and strangulation, the state medical examiner said.
Officials said seven guards had access to White at the time of his death, as did an unspecified number of supervisors. Authorities are also investigating whether anyone from the outside had access to the inmate.
Bobby G. Henry Jr., the attorney representing the inmate's family called for "a thorough and exhaustive investigation." The family is "absolutely, unequivocally outraged and incensed and deeply saddened for the loss of life of their loved one," he said.
He angrily denounced the actions that led to White's death, saying the perpetrators "took it upon themselves to be both the judge, the jury and the executioner."
State police are leading the investigation into White's death at the request of county officials. The FBI is focusing on possible civil rights violations.
"If we have vigilante justice, our society will fall apart," Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson said at a news conference Monday.
The man who identified himself as Ronnie White's father expressed a combination of sympathy for the Finley family and anger over his son's death.
"I mean I'd like to send out my condolences to the family of that officer. You know it's a tragedy on everybody. We hurtin' just like they hurtin'. We brought him up. You know, the right way if you do wrong you gotta answer for it. But gettin' his neck broke or strangling, that ain't how you do it," he said.
State and federal investigators are not talking about the progress of their investigation into White's death.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office says it will also assist Prince George's County prosecutors in the investigation.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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