Anguish Allies Disparate Groups

Prince George's civil rights leaders said at first it seemed like a horrible, but at least isolated, incident: A 19-year-old suspected of killing a county police officer was found strangled in his jail cell in June, and corrections officers were under suspicion.

A month later, however, more appalling news: Sheriff's deputies and county narcotics officers raided the home of the mayor of Berwyn Heights and fatally shot his two dogs. The mayor and his family were innocent; a county drug investigation soon pointed elsewhere.

Then, another questionable killing: An off-duty Prince George's police officer shot a Langley Park man in August while attempting to arrest him for having an open container of alcohol. It was the year's seventh fatal shooting by county police.

For county civil rights groups, the death in custody of Ronnie L. White, the violent raid on the home of Mayor Cheye Calvo and the shooting of Manuel de Jesus Espina have melded together to raise larger questions about the culture of law enforcement in Prince George's.

The three incidents have drawn together the often disparate efforts across the county of the NAACP, immigrant rights groups and neighborhood associations. Animal rights groups have also joined the alliance.

"We all are concerned, and we all need answers," said June White Dillard, president of the county chapter of the NAACP.

After the July 29 raid on Calvo's home, Dillard called for a thorough investigation, saying the mayor, who is white and Hispanic, experienced police action familiar to many young black men in the county. After Espina's death, Dillard locked arms with leaders of the immigrant rights group Casa de Maryland.

Only recently has the degree of unity become clear. The groups met with Acting Police Chief Roberto Hylton, and families and friends of the three victims stood together for the first time recently at a Langley Park rally that drew more than 300 participants.

With county public safety director Vernon Herron looking on and promising that investigations would reveal the truth in each case, the gathering went on for hours. Those in attendance denounced Prince George's police, who shot Espina; the county's Corrections Department, which had custody of White; and the Sheriff's Office, which led the raid on Calvo's home.

The three incidents are under investigation, and the FBI is monitoring the White and Calvo cases.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland, said the lack of answers in the three cases is fueling the increased coordination among the groups. Prince George's police and county State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) are reviewing the shooting of Espina and have not said when the probe will be finished.

Police have said that Officer Steven Jackson was trying to arrest Espina after finding him drinking in an apartment building stairwell but that Espina resisted. Jackson fired his gun after Espina's son arrived and joined the fray, police said.

Witnesses dispute that account, saying Jackson beat Espina before shooting him. Espina's son also says his father dropped to his knees moments before Jackson fired and pleaded with the officer to stop beating him.

Questions also linger in the Berwyn Heights raid. Days after it, police said, they made two arrests and recovered nearly 500 pounds of marijuana, most sent to addresses of unsuspecting residents, including Calvo's wife, Trinity Tomsic. Police have not identified two men they say were behind the incident.

Dillard said the death of Ronnie White and the unfulfilling investigation into the death to date have left the biggest cloud over Prince George's. She faulted Ivey for not having sought an indictment, despite a final autopsy report by the state's chief medical examiner last month that listed White's death as a homicide by asphyxiation.

An attorney for the county correctional officers association said a guard found White with a sheet around his neck, and Ivey has said he has not ruled out the possibility that White committed suicide.

"He was killed; it was a homicide," Dillard said at the rally. "It's time he indicted someone on homicide."