The death of Navy SEAL candidate James Derek Lovelace during pool training has been ruled a homicide by the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

The autopsy report on the 21-year-old sailor -- who apparently had been treated for asthma and had an abnormal enlargement of the heart -- says that while some might view the May 6 drowning death as an accident, the “actions, or inactions, of the instructors and other individuals involved were excessive and directly contributed to the death.”

An unnamed Navy instructor in Coronado repeatedly dunked Lovelace under water during a five-minute period, despite instructors pointing the SEAL candidate out as struggling during the “combat” pool exercise, according to the county’s report released Wednesday.

The report acknowledges that Lovelace’s heart abnormality may have been a contributing factor.

The Navy is still investigating and hasn’t determined if charges will occur, according to a spokesman for the Navy’s criminal policing branch.

“It is important to understand that 'homicide' refers to 'death at the hands of another' and a homicide is not inherently a crime,” a Navy statement released Wednesday said. “The autopsy report does not signal that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation into Seaman Lovelace's death has culminated, nor that conclusions have been reached regarding criminal culpability.”

View the Video Death of Navy SEAL candidate ruled homicide

It’s the first time a Navy SEAL candidate’s death has been ruled a homicide, according to people in retired Naval Special Warfare circles. If anyone is charged in the incident, it would also be a first -- and one that would likely rock the close-knit community.

An instructor involved in Lovelace’s training has been removed from his position and placed on administrative duties, the Navy has said. The instructor hasn’t been named.

SEAL instructors are not supposed to dunk or pull students underwater, according to the county report and at least one retired SEAL.

Asked to confirm this detail, a spokesman for the Navy SEAL training center in Coronado said he couldn’t because his command is not making any comments while the investigation continues.

Lovelace’s history of asmtha and heart issues would have likely disqualified him from SEAL candidacy unless he was able to get a medical waiver, one retired SEAL said.

Another student in the pool tried to help Lovelace keep his head above water, according to the medical examiner’s narrative, which describes the scene based on video of the event:

“An instructor observing from the dive platform is seen to point out the decedent (Lovelace,) who appeared to be struggling, and an instructor in the water approaches the decedent. That instructor is seen to dunk the decedent under the water and then follow him around the pool for approximately 5 minutes. He continually splashes the decedent, dunks him at least one additional time, and appears to be yelling at him. The decedent is also splashed by other individuals during the event. At one point in the video, another individual in the water is seen pulling him up and away from the instructor. Throughout this time period, the decedent’s head is seen to go under the water multiple times, and the instructor can be seen pulling him up multiple times. Eventually the instructor pulls him out of the water, and the exercise is stopped.”

The last half year has been rough for the SEAL training ranks.

Another SEAL hopeful committed suicide in April after dropping out of training. Another failed candidate, after a bout of heavy drinking in November, died after his pickup truck rolled off the side of the road.

Lovelace, who was from Crestview, Fla., was in his first week of the notoriously difficult six-month course to become a SEAL. Only about 25 percent of candidates make it through the program without dropping out.

The candidate course includes workouts in the pounding surf, running with logs and rubber boats overhead, swims and a no-sleep “Hell Week” meant to weed out all but the most determined sailors.

The pool training is called “combat swimmer orientation,” and it involves SEAL candidates swimming and treading water while wearing fatigues, boots and masks. Instructors and other students were in the water and around the pool edges.

Retired SEAL officer Bob Schoultz said the point of the pool competancy training is to see how candidates respond in the water under stress.

“It’s meant to be difficult. It’s meant to be hard to see how well a guy keeps his cool when there’s chaos around him in water. They create this chaos situation,” said Schoultz, adding that it’s better to test out a candidate’s stress tolerance in the pool before taking on the open ocean.

There were signs that Lovelace, known to be a weak swimmer, was in distress.

Witnesses reported that his face was purple and his lips were blue, according to the county’s report. When pulled from the pool, still breathing, he was mumbling and could still track with his eyes. Abundant “discolored water” came out of his mouth when he was turned on his side.

But when the SEAL candidate was turned on his back again, he became unresponsive. Resusitation didn’t work and he was declared dead at Sharp-Coronado hospital later that day.

The Navy SEAL command in Coronado, where all Navy SEAL candidates go through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, has added training on symptoms of water injuries since the incident.

Lovelace is at least the fifth SEAL candidate to die while going through the training in the past three decades, according to San Diego Union-Tribune research.

In March 1988, John Joseph Tomlinson, 22, from Altoona, Pa., died of hypothermia near the end of a 5 1/2-mile ocean swim off San Clemente Island in the 17th week of the 25-week training course.

In July 1998, Gordon Racine Jr., 25, from Houston, died during a pool exercise in his first month of the six-month training required for SEAL candidate.

In March 2001, Lt. John Anthony Skop Jr., 29, of Buffalo, N.Y., died during a "Hell Week" swimming exercise. It was the first time a SEAL candidate had died during BUDS' "Hell Week."

In February 2004, Boatswain Mate First Class Rob Vetter, 30, died at a Coronado hospital days after he collapsed while participating in a conditioning run in the second week of the demanding training program for SEAL candidates.

Schoultz said SEAL officials have made significant efforts to make BUD/S safer, including checking the core temperatures of sailors during stretches when hypothermia could be an issue.

Compared to prior decades that were more “Wild West,” he said, “They have really professionalized the training.”