Navy officers to face charges in suicide

BRUNSWICK – Two Navy security officers will face military trials in the case of a sailor who fatally shot himself at Brunswick Naval Air Station in January, a base spokesman said.

Petty Officer 1st Class Mitchell R. Tafel, 33, and Petty Officer 1st Class David C. Rodriguez, 30, have been charged with dereliction of duty and reckless endangerment, according to John James.

They are accused of violating the Navy’s Uniform Code of Military Justice, infractions the Navy says led to the Jan. 27 suicide of 21-year-old Christopher Lee Purcell, who worked as a corpsman at the base’s medical clinic.

The Navy Criminal Investigative Service has refused to discuss events surrounding the suicide, which took place at Purcell’s apartment on the base.

The Brunswick Police Department, which was called to the base after Purcell shot himself, released a 42-page report this week that contains detailed police and witness accounts of what happened.

Tafel and Rodriguez were part of a team of security officers who responded to a report that Purcell had been drinking and was having suicidal thoughts, according to police. Purcell was placed in handcuffs when a struggle ensued between him and security officers.

Purcell asked if he could use the bathroom, where he pulled a revolver from his waistband and fatally shot himself in the chest while a security officer stood behind him, the report said.

Before the shooting, Rodriguez had performed a “pat-down” search of Purcell’s chest area but did not check below the waist, according to the report.

Tafel and Rodriguez will remain on active duty, pending their trial before a military court, which could impose a wide range of penalties, from up to one year’s confinement to a bad-conduct discharge, as well as the loss of pay and rank, James said.

Attempts to reach both men at their homes were unsuccessful. James said their attorneys have advised the men against speaking publicly.