State Trooper Dies While Being Trained For Elite Unit

(PatriotPostNews.com) – New Jersey State Police Trooper Marcellus Bethea was found dead during training for an elite unit called the Technical Emergency and Mission Specialists, or TEAMS. The unit is designed to handle “extraordinary police emergencies.”

TEAMS training is meant to challenge the mind and body of officers. Training includes arduous underwater recovery and rescue courses. The governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, said in a statement released on X that both he and his wife are deeply saddened by the loss. No cause of death has been reported.

Sadly, training-related deaths are not unheard of. In late April, a trainee at Fort Jackson in South Carolina was pronounced dead after a medical emergency during training. Thirty-nine-year-old Private First Class Veronica Wynn collapsed during training and was found unconscious. Wynn was rushed to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Fort Jackson Commander General Jason Kelly released a statement on Facebook expressing his condolences to Wynn’s family.

In mid-April, newly promoted Sergeant Colin Arslanbas of the Maritime Special Purpose Force, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, died during parachute training at Marine Corps Outlying Field Atlantic in North Carolina. A spokesperson for the Corps described the event as a “parachute mishap.” Arslanbas was pronounced dead on the scene.

During a separate incident, 28-year-old Marine Sergeant Wolfgang Kyle Wenginger was pronounced dead after parachute training at the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning in Georgia.

Fatal training incidents are not exclusive to the United States. Conor McPherson, age 24, a private in the Black Watch, Royal Regiment of Scotland, was accidentally shot to death during a nighttime training event. McPherson was shot in the back of the head during a training exercise that included live ammunition to shoot remote-controlled drones. The exact details of McPherson’s death have not been released.

These tragic incidents highlight the often overlooked dangers of training and the tragic losses experienced by officers and soldiers.