Nearly a week after a recruit was fatally injured at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree, it remains unclear what agency will lead the investigation.
State police said Friday that 25-year-old Enrique Delgado-Garcia had died at a hospital. One day earlier, police say he was badly injured during a defensive tactics training exercise.
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Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. stood beside members of Delgado-Garcia's family, who have demanded answers about his death, at a press conference Monday. He said his office, where Delgado-Garcia spent 18 months working as a victim witness advocate, would not handle the investigation, citing a conflict of interest.
"Because of this close relationship, someone else will be handling this matter," Early said. "My concern is that we can't investigate, and I want it done by someone who doesn't have a stake in its outcome."
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Early said until the investigation is handed off, state police assigned to his office will continue to investigate Delgado-Garcia's death.
"Enrique Delgado-Garcia was loved by everyone in our office," he said Monday.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson with Early's office told NBC10 Boston that no decision has been made yet on appointing another agency, but a decision is expected to be made soon.
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"There may not be any Massachusetts law enforcement agency who's in a position to investigate these concerns, given the fact that every district attorney and the attorney general's office have state police detectives that are assigned to work with them," Jessie Rossman, legal director for the ACLU of Massachusetts, told NBC10 Boston Wednesday.
Rossman said the investigation could fall to federal prosecutors.
"In the short term, this suggests that federal authorities may need to assume control of any investigation into these events," she said. "But in the long term, this also raises the broader question about why there is not a routine way to investigate potential MSP misconduct within the commonwealth."
In addition to Delgado-Garcia's death, Rossman says allegations of racism and bullying at the academy, raised in a report Tuesday by the NBC10 Boston Investigators, need to be investigated.
"If true, these allegations raise significant concerns of potential systemic issues at the academy, and they require an investigation that's both thorough and transparent so that the public understands what is actually happening in its own state police," Rossman said. "Every state actor, including law enforcement, requires oversight. What we're seeing here is there appears to be a serious need for an identified state actor who would have the ability to investigate MSP moving forward without needing to rely on federal assistance."
