Injuries from training exercise contributed to Mass. State Police recruit's death, attorney says
Massachusetts State Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia died as a result of complications from blunt force injuries during a boxing exercise at the State Police Academy last September. The medical examiner released the autopsy report to the family.
The I-Team spoke to the attorneys representing Delgado-Garcia's family. "He had blunt force injuries to the head and neck. He had contusions surrounding the right eye, contusions overlaying the left eye," attorney Michael Wilcox said. "He had internal injuries. He took a severe beating and had brain injuries as a result of repeated blows to his face and head."
Injured during boxing exercise
Last fall, Delgado-Garcia was five months into his training to become a state trooper and was participating in a boxing exercise when he was seriously injured.
"During the course of all of these boxing matches that day, and this one in particular, there was a referee in the ring," attorney Louis Aloise said. "So when Enrique was knocked down the first time, why was it that the referee would allow the boxing match to continue and allow him to receive the pummeling that he did?"
The 25-year old's death sparked an independent investigation and led to reforms at the State Police Academy, including the suspension of the boxing program.
"I think that the state police were reckless in instituting this program after some prior problems with it," Wilcox said. "I think they were reckless in the manner in which they aligned the two young men up to fight. I think they were reckless in the manner in which they supervised the event and I think they were reckless in the manner in which this fight unfolded."
Wilcox and Aloise said they are still waiting for the results from the independent investigation and plan to have their own expert review the autopsy report. The official death certificate is expected to be filed with the Worcester Clerk's office this week.
State police on trooper's death
"The Massachusetts State Police remembers and honors Trooper Enrique Delgado Garcia as one of our fallen," a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson said in a statement. "His kindness, compassion, and dedication to the Department's mission continues to inspire all who knew him from his time at the Academy and beyond. As we approach the first anniversary and continue our review of training practices, the Department shares the Delgado-Garcia Family's desire for a thorough accounting of the facts and circumstances of his tragic death. The State Police has fully cooperated with the ongoing review of this tragedy, and we await the findings of that independent inquiry."
