An investigation is ongoing after a Massachusetts State Police recruit died last week, one day after authorities say he became unresponsive and suffered a “medical crisis” during a defensive tactics training exercise.
Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, died at a hospital on Friday, a day after the exercise at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree, according to state police.
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A state police spokesman said the academy's on-site medical team responded immediately after Delgado-Garcia became unresponsive. They determined that he required urgent medical care and took him to the hospital, where he died.
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Family demands answers
Now Delgado-Garcia's family members are demanding answers, saying they don't understand how a training exercise could have left him with fatal injuries, including severe brain trauma. His mother told NBC10 Boston and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra that he was hit and injured.
“I don’t understand why it was so rough if it was just training," Sandra Garcia said in Spanish. “I want them to explain it to me, that the state explains to me what happened with my son. … Why did he hit him so hard that it killed him, that it destroyed his brain and broke all of my son’s teeth and he had a neck fracture too, my son.”
"I'm ashamed of MSP, and I feel like they need to thoroughly investigate this and justice needs to be brought because its not okay how they're treating these troops." a friend of Delgado-Garcia's added. "If my friend could end up like this this could be anyone's son or daughter."
The police training in question can cover a range of physical encounters to defend against tackles, punches and other attacks. A state police spokesman did not specify the type of exercise Delgado-Garcia took part in.
State police said Delgado-Garcia was a Worcester resident and had entered the training program in April. The class is scheduled to graduate on Oct. 9.
Before his death, Delgado "was surrounded by family, loved ones, and classmates during the bi-lingual ceremony, which culminated in him being pinned with his Trooper Badge," a state police spokesman said.
The oath of office was administered by two civilian workers at Massachusetts State Police serving as commissioners under state law that lets the governor appoint such officers.
Delgado-Garcia's body was transported from UMass Memorial Medical Center to the chief medical examiner's office in Westfield on Saturday.
District attorney's office updates investigation
“The matter is under review and the review has been active and ongoing since we were notified of the incident on Thursday,” Lindsay Corcoran, a spokesperson for the Worcester County District Attorney’s office, said in a statement Saturday. Delgado-Garcia once worked as a victim witness advocate in that office.
The district attorney's office held a press conference Monday to provide an update on their review into Delgado-Garcia's death. District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said his office cannot be impartial because Delgado-Garcia used to work for them and so he is looking to hand the investigation off to someone else. He didn't say who that would be, only that it won't be another district attorney's office because they also employ state police investigators and can't be fully impartial.
Early said he spoke with "four different entities in the state" Friday about taking over the investigation. But until the investigation has been handed off, he said state police detectives assigned to his office will continue to investigate Delgado-Garcia's death.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement released Monday that she is in conversation with the Worcester County District Attorney's Office and other agencies about identifying "the appropriate and most objective prosecutorial authority to take over this important investigation."
A spokesperson for the State Police Association of Massachusetts directed questions on what happened to Delgado-Garcia to the state police department.
Officials react to young recruit's death
Col. John Mawn Jr. of the state police said in a statement that his department “is committed to providing support and resources to Trainee Delgado-Garcia’s family, friends, and fellow academy recruits in the coming days and weeks as they cope with this unimaginable loss.”
"Enrique was a fine young man who devoted himself to the service of others as a member of the 90th Recruit Training Troop and in his former role as a victim witness advocate in the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office," Mawn added. "In his short time with the State Police, Enrique demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to learn and a desire to deliver excellent police services to the people of Massachusetts. He made an immediate impression on his classmates and the Academy Staff. By all accounts, Enrique possessed and displayed all the qualities that would have made him an outstanding Trooper: kindness and compassion, dedication, commitment, willingness to work hard to improve himself, and a strong desire help others."
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement saying she was heartbroken about the loss of Delgado-Garcia.
“He was a beloved member of his academy class, known for his compassion and devotion to service. This is a devastating time for all who knew and loved him, and we are holding Enrique’s family and his State Police community in our hearts,” she said.
Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll echoed the governor's feelings in comments to NBC10 Boston.
“I’m heartbroken about the loss of Massachusetts State Police Trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who had committed himself to a career protecting the people of Massachusetts," she said. "He was a beloved member of his academy class, known for his compassion and devotion to service. This is a devastating time for all who knew and loved him, and we are holding Enrique’s family and his State Police community in our hearts.”
“We'll continue to work to obviously understand exactly what transpired but I'm sure there'll be a full investigation," she added.
A message was sent to Healey's spokesperson on Saturday asking if more information was available about what happened to Delgado-Garcia.
