AP: U.S. Navy Medic Was Electrocuted in Iraq

By: When a Navy medic from Zimmerman, Minn., nearing the end of his tour of duty in Iraq died on Sept. 11, 2004, family members were told he died of natural causes.

They now know that Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, was electrocuted while showering, the third U.S. service member to suffer that fate in Iraq.

The Associated Press reported Monday that late last year, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology changed the cause of Cedergren's death to "accidental," caused by electrocution and inflammation of the heart.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Services has reopened an investigation into his death, Ed Buice, a NCIS spokesman, said Monday. He would not comment on specific evidence in Cedergren's case.

Cedergren's brother, Barry, said family members initially suspected he had been electrocuted because, according to reports shown to the family, witnesses told investigators that some service members had reported suffering electrical shocks in the shower.

He said military investigators took a second look at the case after a request from the staff of former Republican Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman.

"We're looking further into what our options are," said Cedergren, of Ramsey.

[E&P has reported extensively for more than a year on this area, with interest first emerging out of the death of Ryan Maseth and the activities sparked by his mother Cheryl Harris.]

Cedergren, the 11th Minnesotan to die in Iraq, was found unconscious in an outdoor shower stall at Camp Iskandariyah. He was taken to a nearby military medical facility, where he was pronounced dead.

At the time, family members said they were not aware that Cedergren had any underlying health problems.

He grew up in Zimmerman and attended school in Elk River. He liked cars, motorcycles, rebuilding motors and tae kwan do, and was what family members called "a fanatic" about exercise.

He was sent to Iraq in March 2004 and was scheduled to be rotated home a month after his death. He had planned to study to become a nurse.

Cedergren's death is among 18 electrocution deaths under review as part of a Department of Defense Inspector General inquiry, the AP reported. The inquiry primarily involves electrical work done at a facility where a Green Beret was electrocuted while showering in January 2008.

Sixteen of those who died were U.S. service members. Two were military contractors. According to the AP, improperly installed or maintained electrical devices have been blamed in some of the deaths, while accidental contact with power lines has also been a cause in the electrocution deaths.