Family of young state police recruit outraged after learning that he died during a training exercise

NEW BRAINTREE, MA - After learning that 25-year-old Enrique Delgado Garcia, a recruit at the Massachusetts Police Academy, died after having a medical crisis during a training exercise, his family has questions about how a training could have left him with such serious injuries including severe brain trauma.

According to NBC Boston, Delgado's family said that their loved one suffered a broken neck, missing teeth, and severe brain damage. In a statement released by the Massachusetts State Police (MSP), authorities said that Delgado suffered a medical crisis during a defensive tactics training and became unresponsive. He was later rushed to the hospital, where he died. 

Now, his family is demanding accountability as well as a much more detailed explanation to what went on inside the walls of that academy. A friend of Delgado said, "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. If my friend could end up like this this could be anyone's son or daughter."

Cousin Omel Canario Garcia said, "That didn't come from boxing, especially a round of two minutes."

On Saturday, September 14th, an MSP spokesman shared some new information on Delgado's death. Police have not yet shared more about the actual training exercise that they said Delgado was seriously injured in, but a department's spokesman confirmed that the Worcester County District Attorney's Office was "reviewing all aspects of this matter." 

The spokesman also said that Delgado's body was due to be taken from UMass Medical Center to the Westfield location of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Tim McGuirk, the department's interim director of media relations, said that before his death, Delgado was "surrounded by family, loved ones, and classmates during the bilingual ceremony, which culminated in him being pinned with his Trooper Badge."

McGuirk said that the oath of office was administered by two civilian workers at MSP serving as commissioners under state law that lets the governor appoint such officers. WBAY reported that Delgado's mother said that her son was hit and injured.

She said, "I don't understand why it was so rough if it was just training. I want them to explain it to me, that the state explains to me what happened to 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."

During the training exercise, McGurik said that the academy's on-site medical team responded immediately after Delgado became unresponsive. They then determined that he required urgent medical care and took him to the hospital, where he died. Delgado was part of the 90th Recruit Training Troop, which is due to graduate on October 9th. 

Col. John Mawn Jr., the outgoing leader of MSP, said in a statement, "The Massachusetts State Police grieves the tragic loss of Trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. They have the full measure of our support and care, and they remain full members of our State Police family. 

"Enrique was a fine you 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. 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 to help others."