Alarming new details emerge in death of veteran LAPD diver who drowned during SoCal training exercise

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A veteran Los Angeles Police Department diver who died during a training exercise in Huntington Beach last week was in a backyard pool at the time and may have been using a specialized underwater device, according to a new report.

The department is now investigating after Officer Thomas Daniel Denton suffered a medical emergency around 11 a.m. in a backyard pool located in the 17000 block of Crown Circle on Nov. 5.

Huntington Beach firefighters responded to the scene and Denton was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities are now investigating whether there were any safety violations related to the diving equipment Denton used at a private home’s swimming pool rather than the department’s facilities, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The Department is in the process of conducting a comprehensive investigation and will make the public aware of its findings at the appropriate time,” an LAPD spokesperson said in a statement to the California Post.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is also looking into the circumstances surrounding Denton’s death, according to the Times.

During the on-duty training exercise, Denton may have been using a device called a closed-circuit rebreather, sources told the Times.

The device is typically used by Navy SEALs because it allows divers to remain underwater undetected for longer periods of time.

“Closed-circuit rebreathers use a different approach in supplying life support to the diver,” according to the Divers Alert Network. The “rebreather’s primary tasks are to remove the carbon dioxide and replenish the life-sustaining oxygen.”

David McMurdie, co-founder of the California Recovery Divers, told the Times the danger comes when too much oxygen is introduced.

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“Because of the way it was being operated or because of some failure inside the rebreather, it puts too much oxygen in the mix,”  he said.

“And because it causes this sort of neurological response, the first signal you have that something’s gone wrong is you go into a seizure and you die because you’re underwater.”

Denton was part of the elite LAPD Metropolitan Division, a specialized tactical support and crime-suppression unit, and had served with the LAPD since 2006.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said Denton’s “passing has deeply impacted our department.”

“Officer Denton dedicated his life to serving others and embodied the values of courage, commitment, and sacrifice,” the department said.

“We honor his memory and extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fellow officers. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”

The Post has contacted Orange County coroner and Cal/OSHA for further information.