Sailor's parents to sue Navy

'Wrongful death' alleged in handling of corpsman's suicide at BNAS
Brunswick Times Record - ME, United States
Sailor's parents to sue Navy
news@TimesRecord.Com


'Wrongful death' alleged in handling of corpsman's suicide at BNAS
By Beth Brogan, Times Record Staff

BRUNSWICK — The father of a 21-year-old corpsman who fatally shot himself while in custody at Brunswick Naval Air Station in January has notified the Navy of his intent to file a wrongful death suit on behalf of his son.

Attorney Howard Miller of Fichera & Miller in Chicago said the Department of Defense has been informally notified of the suit, which will be filed as soon as Corpsman Christopher Purcell's father, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael Purcell, is named executor of his son's estate.

The night of Jan. 27, 2008, Brunswick Naval Air Station security went to the Pegasus Street barracks where Christopher Purcell lived, in response to a report by family members that he was suicidal.

According to a Brunswick Police Department incident report released in May following an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Navy security personnel handcuffed Purcell, but never fully searched him. Purcell was later released from handcuffs to use the bathroom, where he pulled a Ruger revolver from his waistband and shot himself in the chest.
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