MPD Officer Found Dead in Southeast D.C., Sources Say

An MPD officer was found dead in his Southeast D.C. in his apartment Saturday afternoon, a high-ranking police source told News4's Darcy Spencer.

The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Johnny Jones. His body was found inside his apartment building in the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE.

The cause or circumstances of Jones' death are unknown. Authorities said there were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play.

Sources also tell News4 the officer was under internal investigation for alleged inappropriate activity while he was on-duty in a police cruiser.

He had been a long-time police officer.

Authorities said they received a report of an unconscious person and found Jones' body around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. Around 6 p.m., MPD's public information office confirmed there is an ongoing death investigation, although they had not confirmed the death is that of an MPD officer.

A neighbor told Spencer that police apparently went to the building Saturday when he did not show up at work. A maintenance worker let in police.

Jones was well-regarded in his apartment building, and neighbors told Spencer they had no idea he was facing trouble on the job.

"He was a good person. Everybody's good in their own way," said a neighbor who didn't want her name used.

Neighbors said Jones had lived in the building for about a year and provided security.

"Once we found out that he was there, we had some other type of security that was around here that didn't do no good, but as far as when we found out he was around here, I mean, it helped," said neighbor John McCrea.

Jones' body was send to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and will undergo an autopsy.

Police ID DC cop found dead in his home in SE: Johnny Jones, 56. No sign of trauma, foul play. Autopsy pending pic.twitter.com/UooWNq9pZx — Darcy Spencer (@darcyspencer) April 20, 2014