Print
Nov 9, 2008 5:27 pm US/Eastern
Reports: Jail Camera Failed In Inmate's Death
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) ―
-
-
Internal reports at the Prince George's County jail reveal that a video camera failed to record the first five minutes when guards arrived in a cell to find a dead inmate.
CBS
Internal reports at the Prince George's County jail reveal that a video camera failed to record the first five minutes when guards arrived in a cell to find a dead inmate.
The Washington Post reports it reviewed 13 statements that guards, supervisors and jail nurses provided to internal investigators on the day 19-year-old Ronnie White was found dead this summer.
The statements show that a hand-held camera, which guards are required to use when responding to emergencies in cells, malfunctioned and did not record the time when guards entered White's cell and started CPR and called 911.
The camera did not start recording until after White was removed on a stretcher and his cell was ordered shut.
White was found June 29 in his jail cell, several days after he was arrested in the hit-and-run death of Cpl. Richard Findley during a traffic stop. Maryland's chief medical examiner has ruled that White was strangled.
Vicki Duncan, a county jail spokeswoman, said guards are supposed to use the camera for liability reasons. She said sometimes it malfunctions.
Bobby Henry, an attorney for White's family, said the alleged camera problems show that the "integrity of the system has been seriously compromised."
Authorities investigating the death, including Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, declined to comment.
Vernon Herron, the county's director of public safety, said he was not aware of the reports that the camera malfunctioned. But in response to White's death, he said, the county plans to install cameras that will record activity in all areas where inmates are housed and transported.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
WJZ.COM's Most Popular Slideshows
