Eight US soldiers charged over death of fellow trooper
December 22nd, 2011 - 10:00 am ICT by IANSWashington, Dec 22 (IANS) Eight US soldiers deployed in Afghanistan have been charged in connection with the death of a fellow Chinese-American soldier in October, officials said.
Danny Chen, a 19-year-old infantryman assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division, died Oct 3. His body was found in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan with “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” in his head, Xinhua quoted the report by the American Forces Press Service as saying.
The US Army has charged eight of Chen’s fellow soldiers in connection with his death. They are 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, Spc. Ryan J. Offutt, and Sgt. Travis F. Carden.
The charges include dereliction of duty, maltreatment, involuntary manslaughter, assault consummated by battery, and reckless endangerment.
All of the accused were assigned to Company C, and posted to Combat Outpost Palace in southern Afghanistan, US military officials said.
No further information was disclosed in the report.
The death of Chen, from Chinatown of New York, urged the US military to launch a thorough investigation.
A US military official revealed to Chen’s family that he had been subjected to physical abuse and ethnic slurs by his superiors, who allegedly dragged him out of bed one night and across the floor when he failed to turn off a water heater after showering, says a report published in the New York Times in October.
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Tags: 25th infantry division, american forces press service, american soldier, company c, danny chen, dereliction of duty, dugas, ethnic slurs, fellow trooper, guard tower, infantryman, involuntary manslaughter, j schwartz, military official, new york times, offutt, reckless endangerment, self inflicted gunshot wound, southern afghanistan, staff sgt