ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — A state and federal investigation continues nearly two years after a former Ross County Deputy Sheriff beat an inmate inside the county’s jail.
In February 2023, the county’s jail administrator, Major Bill White was walking a male inmate down a stairwell in the jail. The inmate is captured on security camera video saying something, which provoked White to attack the inmate.
On Tuesday, The Department of Justice indicted a Franklin County Corrections Officer — nearly two years after an incident where he allegedly disclosed an arrestee’s sex charges to other inmates, which provoked the inmates to beat up the offender. The jailer, according to the DOJ, knew what he was doing by revealing the type of charges to the other inmates. The two-year long investigation prompted the Guardian to ask state and federal authorities about the status of White’s investigation, given that it has been nearly two years since the violent attack without any charges.
The Ohio Attorney General confirmed on Wednesday that White remains under investigation for the assault. Ross County Prosecutor Jeff Marks said BCI continues their case, as well.
“It is my understanding that BCI is the party handling the investigation and any subsequent prosecution out of this occurrence. I have not heard anything from them as of today.” Marks said in a statement to news media on Wednesday.
A DOJ spokeswoman said policy prohibited her from confirming or denying an investigation, while a source with the Federal Bureau of Investigation told the Guardian that an “indictment is looming” for White. The FBI source spoke on conditions anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
As detailed in an incident report, inmate Ronnie Dale Pettiford Jr., was being moved by three jail staff members to a new location within the facility. Pettiford, who was incarcerated for charges including obstructing justice, theft, and probation violation, expressed his discontent to the workers, stating he was unhappy about being reassigned to a pod where he had encountered problems before, the report states.
That is when things escalated into a physical restraint, as per the incident report. The security camera video, which lacked audio, depicted Pettiford not engaging in any actions that would justify the ensuing confrontation. Instead, the footage showed White suddenly advancing on Pettiford in a stairwell, forcefully shoving him against one wall and then another.
The report goes on to describe how Pettiford fell to the floor, at which point another jail staff member attempted to control him by holding his arm. White, however, escalated the situation by dragging his boot across Pettiford’s face. Despite attempts by the colleague to give Pettiford directives to roll over, White inflicted two kicks to Pettiford’s midsection and then drove his knee into Pettiford’s left ribs.
According to the report, Pettiford, struggling for breath, exclaimed he was “sorry” and “done.” White then maneuvered him onto his stomach, pinning him down and forcing his arm up towards his head. The situation further deteriorated when the jail administrator intervened, pushing the other staff member aside and into a wall, before delivering a punch to Pettiford’s head as he lay restrained on the concrete floor.
White was fired by the Sheriff’s office and public records revealed the the video.