Chesapeake to release findings on officer's death

CHESAPEAKE

An investigation into the death of Chesapeake police Officer Timothy Schock during dive-team training in late December has lingered for more than seven weeks as four agencies have looked into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Police Chief Kelvin Wright said he is close to releasing a summary of the department's findings now that three of the agencies - the Chesapeake Police Department, Virginia State Police and medical examiner's office - are wrapping up their individual investigations.

"I feel we owe it to Tim and his memory and his family and the officers that the information surrounding the circumstances surrounding this tragedy are made public," Wright said.

Schock, 41, was participating in routine underwater search-and-rescue training at Oak Grove Lake Park on Dec. 20 when he surfaced and told his partner he was having trouble breathing. The partner tried to give Schock a respirator, but he pushed it away and went back underwater.

Despite lifesaving efforts, the 16-year veteran was later pronounced dead, Wright said.

Schock had served on the dive team, which is a secondary assignment for officers, for about eight years. The 13-person unit trains one day a month - at Oak Grove Lake Park and other locations - and was activated eight times last year, according to information obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Wright has been reluctant to release additional information - including the type of equipment the divers were using and whether Schock had any known health problems - citing the ongoing investigation.

The department does not consider the death suspicious but initially prevented additional information from being released by citing a pending "criminal investigation."

Wright explained that terminology by saying all deaths are treated as homicides until proven otherwise.

In Schock's case, part of the delay has come from the number of witnesses who had to be interviewed and the need to test the diving equipment. That equipment, including the air in the air tank, had to be sent out for extensive evaluation, police said.

"These things take time," Wright said. "We owe it to Tim to do a thorough investigation. We didn't want to take any chances."

Wright also requested the assistance of the Virginia State Police after meeting with the agency's dive master the night of Schock's death.

"I felt I needed someone with proper expertise to advise me on the subtle nuances of diving," he said.

In 2010, a Virginia State Police trooper died during a deep-water training exercise in Lake Anna.

After an investigation spanning several months, authorities determined that the trooper died of a medical condition, State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

A Freedom of Information Act request for information gathered by the State Police on Schock's death was denied based on the Line of Duty Act.

That act requires that any documents created during a line-of-duty-death investigation be kept confidential. The General Assembly unanimously agreed to add the records exemption in 2010.

As of Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office said a doctor had not yet made a final determination as to the cause and manner of Schock's death. The initial autopsy was inconclusive.

Because Schock died at work, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry is also investigating his death, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Wester.

City Councilman Rick West said he expects "full disclosure" about the incident once Chesapeake's investigation is complete. If the department does not make information available, he said, the City Council will probably ask for it.

"I would be surprised if that doesn't happen freely, without any pressure," West said. "It's just the right thing to do."

Pilot writer Veronica Gonzalez contributed to this report.

Sarah Hutchins, 757-222-5210, sarah.hutchins@pilotonline.com