James Derek Lovelace was 21 when he died on May 6, 2016, during a BUD/S pool exercise at Coronado, California. He was in his first week of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training and was taking part in a combat swimmer orientation that required trainees to tread water in fatigues, boots, and a dive mask filled with water.

The San Diego County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide by drowning and said a pre-existing heart condition contributed. Surveillance video showed an instructor repeatedly dunking Lovelace and continually splashing him for about five minutes while another trainee tried to help. Lovelace showed clear signs of distress before being pulled from the pool, later losing consciousness and dying at a hospital. The autopsy concluded instructors’ actions and inactions were excessive and directly contributed to the death, and noted that dunking or pulling students underwater violated the exercise’s specific rules.

A Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe led the Navy to announce in April 2017 that it would not pursue criminal charges, and the instructor had been reassigned to administrative duties during the investigation. The family said they intended to file a lawsuit. Does anyone have additional information about the training protocols or witnesses from that exercise?