{"id":40554,"date":"2018-05-22T21:29:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T21:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/22\/fitz-cos-attorneys-torch-navy-brass-for-handling-of-case\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:54:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:54:43","slug":"fitz-cos-attorneys-torch-navy-brass-for-handling-of-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/05\/22\/fitz-cos-attorneys-torch-navy-brass-for-handling-of-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Fitzgerald CO\u2019s attorneys torch Navy brass for handling of case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attorneys for the former head of the warship <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2017\/08\/17\/water-on-deck-get-out-the-navys-official-report-of-the-fitzgeralds-catastrophe-at-sea\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Fitzgerald<\/a> facing homicide charges for his role in the collision that killed seven sailors took a shot across the bow of Navy brass last week, alleging that public remarks made about the former skipper imperil his prospects for a fair trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statement by two Navy attorneys accuse leadership of repeatedly using \u201cpublic forums to assign guilt, foreclose legitimate defenses, and cast unwarranted aspersions\u201d against Cmdr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/05\/14\/hearing-for-former-fitzgerald-commanding-officer-canceled\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Bryce Benson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also slams \u201cthe Navy\u2019s method of litigating this case through the media and other out-of-court opinions and declarations from senior Navy leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statement points to a Navy press release last week regarding Lt. j.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/05\/08\/officer-of-the-deck-during-fatal-fitzgerald-collision-pleads-guilty-at-court-martial\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Sarah Coppock\u2019s<\/a> guilty plea on a dereliction of duty charge for her role in the Fitz collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy pleading guilty today, Lt. j.g. Coppock has accepted responsibility for the role she played in the USS Fitzgerald collision,\u201d the press release states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Benson\u2019s attorneys, Cmdr. Ben Robertson and Lt. Cmdr. Justin Henderson, allege that language amounts to a \u201ccallous implication\u201d that Benson has refused to accept responsibility by not pleading guilty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Henderson said in an email that the \u201cimplication was obvious to any senior Navy leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/08\/17\/water-on-deck-get-out-the-navys-official-report-of-the-fitzgeralds-catastrophe-at-sea\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2017-08-17-at-5.48.43-PM.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018Water on deck!\u2018 \u2018Get out!\u2018 \u2014 The Navy&#8217;s official report of the Fitzgerald&#8217;s catastrophe at sea<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Sailors had less than a minute to escape as seawater blasted through a massive hole in the destroyer Fitzgerald after a container ship struck its starboard side on June 19.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked for further examples of comments they viewed as improper, Henderson pointed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Transcripts\/Transcript-View\/Article\/1361655\/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-adm-richardson-on-results-of-the-fleet\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">November press conference<\/a> where Chief of Naval Operations Adm. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/04\/19\/bad-santa-case-could-have-been-handled-better-navys-top-officer-says\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">John Richardson<\/a> said the Navy had found negligence among the commanding officers of the Fitz and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/11\/01\/crushed-in-their-racks-inside-the-john-s-mccain-disaster\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">John S. McCain<\/a>, which suffered its own collision in August, killing 10 more sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith respect to the proximate cause of the collisions, there was nothing outside the commanding officer and the crews\u2019 span of control,\u201d Richardson told reporters in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?439643-1\/navy-secretary-richard-spencer-admiral-john-richardson-testify-surface-warfare\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">January<\/a> after a House committee hearing, another example cited by Henderson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also referred to comments made by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran when announcing non-judicial punishment actions against the Fitz\u2019s command triad in August, a few days before the McCain collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLook at what happened here,\u201d he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2017\/08\/17\/navy-fires-3-leaders-uss-fitzgerald-wake-deadly-collision.html\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">quoted<\/a> as saying when asked about the triad\u2019s future career. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty hard to recover from this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Henderson said these are just a few of many such comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy officials pushed back on the accusations, saying any earlier administrative actions \u201care separate and distinct from the ongoing criminal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Navy\u2019s public discussion of earlier administrative actions does not imply guilt of (Uniform Code of Military Justice) charges,\u201d Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Day said in an email. \u201cThose accused are always presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and our communication of the status of criminal proceedings have been fact-based and in accordance with service regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Benson waived his right to an Article 32 hearing this month, which would have reviewed the Navy\u2019s case against Benson and decided whether sufficient evidence existed to court-martial him on negligent homicide and other charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Benson chose to skip the hearing to spare surviving families another recital of the grim details of the June 17 collision off the coast of Japan, according to his attorneys\u2019 statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRather than achieving accountability, the Navy\u2019s strategy harms the very system of justice that is designed to protect Sailors,\u201d the attorneys said in the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Benson was asleep in his quarters when the larger ACX Crystal plowed into the Fitz\u2019s starboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crew had to pry open his door and were greeted by the night sky and Benson clinging to the side of the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He suffered \u201cdebilitating injuries\u201d in the event, according to his attorneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fitz-new.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) returns to Fleet Activities Yokosuka following a collision with a merchant vessel while operating southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, June 17, 2017. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter Burghart)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA fair court-martial will expose the facts of the collision\u2019s causes and Cmdr. Benson\u2019s actions,\u201d the attorneys said in the statement. \u201cDespite the Navy\u2019s prejudicial public affairs approach, Cmdr. Benson awaits the outcome of his law-bound, fact-finding tribunal, and hopes for a swift and just conclusion to these proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No date has been announced for Benson\u2019s court-martial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coppock received a punitive letter and pay forfeiture in her sentencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of a plea deal, she agreed to waive her right to a board that would decide whether she should be separated from the Navy, according to officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A joint Article 32 hearing was held for Lt. Natalie Combs and Lt. Irian Woodley to assess whether they will be court-martialed on dereliction of duty and hazarding a vessel charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing officer will make a decision in the near future, according to officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorneys for Cmdr. Bryce Benson said last week that public comments by Navy leadership have assigned guilt and cast &#8220;unwarranted aspersions&#8221; against the former skipper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,64,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3355],"class_list":["post-40554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-ship-collisions","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KWRWRR26ZRBYHH2SMSKGJGE5JU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/05\/22\/fitz-cos-attorneys-torch-navy-brass-for-handling-of-case\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fitzgerald CO\u2019s attorneys torch Navy brass for handling of case - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Attorneys for Cmdr. 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