Officer died in Chesapeake Dive Team training

[warscout2]

Police say an officer died during a training exercise at Oak Grove Lake Park today.
Department spokesperson Kelly O'Sullivan said the dive team was training when one of the officers "went into distress" and later died.
No additional information was immediately available.

updates to come

Chesapeake police officer dies during dive training | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

[telemonster]

Saw that a few minutes ago and bumped over here to see if there was any more information.

Wasn't sure how many locals participate on here.

We'll see how bad the Pilot does in reporting the details of the incident.

[Brendon]

Went into distress? That's an odd way to describe the cause of accident. Bet the reporter isn't a diver. Must be the time of year or something, a lot of divers getting hurt or killed. My heart goes out to the family.

[Ayisha]

Did you read the article, Brendon? It does not mention "went into distress" - it gives the circumstances. The OP summarized it as the officer "went into distress", which seems like a good summary of the circumstances to me.

Here is the article in case it disappears:

Chesapeake police officer dies during dive-team training
By Sarah Hutchins
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 20, 2011
CHESAPEAKE
A member of the police department dive team died during a training exercise at Oak Grove Lake Park on Tuesday.
Officer Timothy Schock was taking part in underwater search and rescue training around 11:45 a.m. when he had difficulty breathing, according to a statement from police chief Kelvin Wright.
When Schock surfaced, he told his team partner - who was with him during the training - that he couldn’t breath, Wright wrote.
Schock’s partner immediately tried to give him his own respirator, “but under the stress and duress of the situation, Officer Schock pushed away the apparatus and went back under water,” Wright wrote.
When divers on shore found out about the situation, they got into the water to try to get Shock back to the surface and on land, where they performed CPR, according to Wright. Later, emergency crews from the fire department continued lifesaving efforts.
The officer was transported to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Wright said the circumstances of Schock’s death are still under investigation.
Schock is the third Chesapeake police officer to die in the line of duty in the last six years. In 2005, Officer Michael Saffran was fatally shot while responding to a bank robbery. Three years later, Det. Jarrod Shivers was killed during an attempt to serve a search warrant.

[DandyDon]

No, I'd say the frequency of severe accidents now are much lower than in the summer, for North America anyway. It seems that the news story was written by a non-diver, but going on what's given - including...

When Schock surfaced, he told his team partner - who was with him during the training - that he couldn’t breath, Wright wrote.

Schock’s partner immediately tried to give him his own respirator, “but under the stress and duress of the situation, Officer Schock pushed away the apparatus and went back under water,” Wright wrote.

It sounds like a possible Pulmonary edema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediacase.

[Bombay High]

No, I'd say the frequency of severe accidents now are much lower than in the summer, for North America anyway. It seems that the news story was written by a non-diver, but going on what's given - including...

It sounds like a possible Pulmonary edema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia case.

I thought the same as I was reading the report.

Tragic. I feel for the family. 

[DandyDon]

Another news article said he'd been on the dive team for 8 years so he was no newbie.

[Jax]

Sorry y'all -- I agree that it sounds very much like IPE.

The officer pushed away an offered reg -- He said "I can't breathe" . . .

[speculation]
It was not that the officer needed another source of air, he needed the air in his lungs right now!

As the fluids accumulate in the lungs, there is less and less space for live-giving air. The poor man probably lost consciousness from lack of air.

If people learned more about this affliction, and recognized it in themselves and others, maybe we could take faster action.
[/speculation]

[Bubbletrubble]

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about the IPE diagnosis in this particular incident.

Rather than increasing awareness of IPE in the general diving public, I think we'd be better served emphasizing the importance of CPR certification, rescue training, skills practice, and paying attention to our own health (regular medical checkups, etc.). First aid treatment by someone without medical training should be simple and straightforward. When, in an emergent situation, you have non-medical people trying to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan for an injured diver...that's when a bad situation can be made worse.

[Jax]

My first thought was IPE as well. It doesn't matter if it's a newbie or not (which he wasn't). We aren't taught about Immersion Pulmonary Edema and we need to increase the awareness of the affliction and how to recognize it and what to do about it.

I was asked by the Ontario Underwater Council to write an article on IPE and it has been completed and will be published in the January/February issue of Ontario Diver. I'll post a link once it's published, hopefully soon. I did the most exhaustive research I could and tried to cut through all the medicalese and made it as comprehensive and understandable as I could (in spite of a fair bit not being known about it) so we can try to understand it, prevent it and/or nip it in the bud.

Wonderful! Will you please post it in " http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/405481-immersion-pulmonary-edema-ipe-unknown-cause-known-killer.html ", as well?