Overview
- A 46-year-old LAPD Metropolitan Division diver, Thomas Denton, suffered a medical emergency and was taken to a hospital after a training exercise in a Huntington Beach backyard pool on Nov. 5 and later died.
- Law-enforcement sources say Denton may have been testing a closed-circuit rebreather, a device that recycles exhaled gas to extend dive time and suppress bubbles, but that possible use has not been confirmed.
- The LAPD has opened a comprehensive internal investigation and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is reviewing the incident for workplace safety violations.
- The Orange County coroner has taken custody of Denton’s body and plans a full autopsy with results that could take six to eight months to complete.
- Closed-circuit rebreathers are typically used by tactical dive teams and can cause dangerous oxygen imbalances that lead to seizures or drowning if a unit is mismanaged or malfunctions, and questions remain about whether required chain-of-command approvals and an injury-prevention plan were obtained for off-site training.