State investigators are assessing the death of a man in custody at the Amite County Jail.
Trumaine White, 41, is reported to have passed away in the detention center on October 4. Bobby DiCello, the attorney representing the deceased’s family, told WLBT that White had gone to an auto shop in Liberty earlier this month to purchase a tire. After White left the business, an employee called the police after witnessing White toss what appeared to be a bag with a “white powdery” substance out of the window of his vehicle.
White reportedly informed law enforcement that he had thrown a paper towel out of the vehicle and went to a local restaurant to eat. While White was in the restaurant, officers came inside, arrested him, and took him to jail.
According to posts flooding social media, employees at the local eatery notified White’s mother of her son’s arrest. She reportedly went to the detention center to seek answers but was allegedly given none, nor did she receive any clarification as to what charges White was facing, per posts online.
DiCello is currently working to determine whether the death of White, a Black truck driver, was a result of police brutality and happened to be racially motivated. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating details surrounding White’s passing. His obituary can be found here.
