Probe widens in strangulation at jail

(CNN) -- The investigation into the strangulation of a man held in solitary confinement at a Maryland jail has widened beyond the seven correctional officers who had access to him, a state government source familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.

The inquiry encompasses all Prince George's County Correctional Center personnel, the source said. The jail has 630 employees, according to the county's Web site.

Jack Johnson, the county's chief executive, has called Ronnie White's death in solitary confinement on Sunday a case of "vigilante justice."

White, 19, was accused of killing a police officer by driving over him.

Autopsy results showed White died of strangulation and asphyxiation and had two broken bones in his neck.

The FBI's Baltimore field office said it has opened a civil rights investigation into White's death. The Justice Department said Tuesday that federal prosecutors have been in contact with the state police and FBI as well as county prosecutors and the department's own Civil Rights Division.

Vernon Herron, the county's deputy chief administrative officer for public safety, told corrections employees Wednesday that they would be expected to cooperate with investigators.

"Until this matter has been resolved, the Department of Corrections will remain under a cloud of suspicion," Herron wrote in a letter to corrections employees Wednesday. "Investigators need your cooperation in this case in order to uncover all the facts and determine who was responsible for Mr. White's death."

Herron said employees were free to exercise their Constitutional rights, including the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and to have an attorney present during the interview.

"Failure of any individual to make themselves available to investigators will result in the county taking whatever appropriate actions are available under the law," he said.

But some of the guards who had access to White have initially refused to talk to these investigators, said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey.

White's death came two days after his arrest in the hit-and-run death of Prince George's County police Cpl. Richard Findley. Authorities believe White was driving a stolen truck. Police were attempting to flag it down when Findley was struck.

Bobby Henry, an attorney for White's family, said authorities put White in jeopardy by holding him in a jail in Findley's jurisdiction. Watch what the family has to say »

"They compromised his life," Henry said. "They compromised his life and then, after doing that, they can't even tell us what happened."

Henry said there are only two ways someone could get into the solitary confinement area.

"You either have to be buzzed in from the booth -- I believe it's called the control booth -- you need a key from there, or you have to get a key from one of two officers who were assigned to his unit on that day," he said.

County authorities have said that seven corrections officials and an unspecified number of supervisors were the only ones authorized to be in White's cell. None had been suspended or removed.

There were no surveillance cameras in the area of the jail where White was being held. White had not had the opportunity to meet with an attorney, Henry said.

A physical conducted when White was processed revealed no health issues, Johnson said.

White was checked regularly in his cell and appeared fine when corrections officers saw him at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. When officers brought him lunch 20 minutes later, he was unconscious and had no pulse, Johnson said.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve and Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.

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