Per the Maryland Office of the Attorney General: “The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General today released its investigative report of the May 20, 2023, fatal police pursuit along I-270 in Montgomery County.
On May 20, at approximately 5:10 a.m., Montgomery County Police Department officers
responded to a call reporting an unresponsive man inside a vehicle in the area of Rockledge
Drive in North Bethesda, Maryland. Officers attempted to converse with the car’s driver,
Lawrence White. When Mr. White woke up, he attempted to flee from the officers, and in
response, they used their patrol cars to block his vehicle in place and put tire deflation devices
under the rear wheels. Mr. White eventually broke free of the blockade, pushing a police cruiser with his car and fleeing northbound on I-270. After an approximately two-minute pursuit, Mr. White crashed in the northbound I-270 express lanes just south of Route 28. During the crash, Mr. White was ejected from his car, which struck a second vehicle before coming to a stop. Mr. White was pronounced dead on scene, and the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
The IID concluded its investigation on September 11, 2023, and forwarded its report to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office on September 12, 2023. The Montgomery County
State’s Attorney and the Howard County State’s Attorney have an agreement to review officer-
involved civilian fatalities in each other’s jurisdictions. The Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office notified the IID on November 28, 2023, of its decision not to prosecute the case.
The IID’s report contains detailed investigative findings and an analysis of relevant legal issues.
Because the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office–not the IID–retains prosecution
authority1 in this case, the report does not make any recommendations as to whether any
individual should or should not be charged. A copy of the investigative report can be found here.”
Beginning with incidents occurring on or after October 1, 2023, the IID has the sole authority, where appropriate, to prosecute police-involved incidents that result in the death of an individual or injuries that are likely to result in the death of an individual. For incidents occurring before that date, the local State’s Attorney retains sole
prosecution authority.