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Enrique Delgado-Garcia died after suffering injuries during “unauthorized, unapproved, and unsupervised boxing-related sparring exercises,” an independent investigator found.
Demonstrators outside of the DCU Center in Worcester, which held the State Police academy graduation in 2024, called for an independent investigation into the death of Enrique Delgado-Garcia. David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe, File
A supervisor and three full-time instructors at the Massachusetts State Police training academy are facing criminal charges related to the death of Enrique Delgado-Garcia, a recruit who died in 2024.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell and attorney David Meier made the announcement Monday afternoon. Meier was hired by the state to conduct an independent investigation into Delgado-Garcia’s death.
Delgado-Garcia died on Sept. 13, 2024, after being injured during a boxing exercise. Last year, his family’s lawyer told the media that an autopsy showed he died accidentally of blunt-force injuries to his head.
In the days and weeks before his death, members of the MSP training academy committed a series of “wanton and reckless acts” in connection with various defensive tactics and physical confrontation training exercises, Meier said. This conduct included both “affirmative acts by academy staff” and the failure to take other actions that they had a legal duty to perform.
This conduct resulted in Delgado-Garcia suffering concussion-like symptoms on Sept. 11, 2024, from “unauthorized, unapproved, and unsupervised boxing-related sparring exercises,” Meier said.
The following day, Delgado-Garcia received multiple blunt-force head injuries and a “massive” brain bleed because academy staff allegedly failed to intervene in a competitive boxing match between him and another recruit. He was knocked unconscious and died on Sept. 13 as a result of those head injuries, Meier said.
The supervisor and instructors are members of the MSP academy’s defensive tactics unit. They interacted with Delgado-Garcia multiple times on Sept. 11, when he suffered concussion-like symptoms, and on Sept. 12.
Those facing charges were identified as Sgt. Jennifer Penton and Troopers Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez, and Casey LaMonte, officials said. They were each charged with causing serious bodily injury to participants in a physical exercise training program and involuntary manslaughter.
Penton, the supervisor, was also charged with perjury. She allegedly lied under oath when asked when she first learned about Delgado-Garcia’s concussion-like symptoms, Meier said.
“Factually and legally, each of these individuals owed a duty of care to Enrique Delgado-Garcia and his fellow trainees. Each of them interacted with Mr. Delgado-Garcia and his fellow trainees on a daily basis. And each of them committed a series of wanton and reckless acts and omissions that resulted in Enrique Delgado-Garcia’s death,” Meier said.
The four people have not, and will not, be arrested, Meier said. He “requested that the court issue a summons” for their arraignments “in the near future.”
“Today is a difficult and somber day for the Massachusetts State Police as we continue to understand the events that led to the tragic death of Trooper Enrique Delgado Garcia. As a law enforcement agency, we respect the legal process and have fully cooperated with the independent investigation while remaining focused on our mission and continuing the important work of keeping Massachusetts communities safe,” State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said in a statement after the announcement.
Meier convened a grand jury, which heard testimony from more than 150 witnesses, he said. The majority of them were MSP troopers. The grand jury also reviewed close to 350 physical exhibits, most of which related to policies and procedures at the training academy.
Meier said that he met with Delgado-Garcia’s family throughout the process but acknowledged the lack of public information.
“I fully recognize that the investigative process has been lengthy, and it has been conducted in silence, without public comment, at least on my part. That silence has been purposeful. It is a direct reflection of the nature of the investigation and of my ethical and legal obligations,” he said.
The evidence does not support a criminal investigation into the MSP academy’s command staff, he added.
There is no evidence that Delgado-Garcia was “targeted” in any way. There is no indication that anyone at the academy harbored any “personal animosity” toward him, Meier said, and no evidence indicates that anyone acted with “deliberation, premeditation, or malice.”
“I take no personal satisfaction, none, in where these facts have led. But I am confident that the investigative team and I have carried out our assignment professionally, responsibly, and independently. And I am confident that we have done so the right way, and for the right reasons,” Meier said.
Campbell described Delgado-Garcia as a public servant who began his career as a victim advocate in the Worcester District Attorney’s Office. He always strove to make a difference in his community, she said.
“He was a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend. Enrique should be alive today,” Campbell said.
Meier, a former prosecutor, was appointed to lead the investigation into Delgado-Garcia’s death after Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early “appropriately determined that his office had a conflict of interest,” Campbell said.
Delgado-Garcia used the word “torture” and described hazing-like conditions at the academy before he died, according to friends and former classmates. Officials pressed for more scrutiny on the MSP’s “paramilitary”-style training model.
The attorney general said that she supports Noble’s efforts to enact reforms at the training academy. The agency last year announced that the International Association of Chiefs of Police would be conducting an independent review of all MSP training practices. Noble appointed new academy leadership, initiated an hour-by-hour review of the academy’s curriculum, and bifurcated the new class of recruits into two smaller cohorts to provide for better oversight.
The MSP immediately suspended boxing as part of the defensive tactics curriculum in the wake of Delgado-Garcia’s death. It remains suspended.
“As the IACP review nears completion, our work continues with focus and resolve, guided by Enrique’s memory, and committed to the highest standards of professionalism, leadership, and training,” Noble said. “We will remain engaged with the legal process and will reserve further comment at this time to protect its integrity.”
Ross Cristantiello
Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more.
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