The death of a Massachusetts State Police recruit overshadows the graduation ceremony

WORCESTER, Mass. – Several dozen people held signs demanding the truth and shouted for justice as they gathered outside a graduation ceremony for Massachusetts State Police cadets on Wednesday, demanding an explanation for how one of the recruits died during a training exercise .

Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, died in a hospital on September 13, a day after he became unresponsive and suffered a “medical crisis” during a defensive tactics exercise in a boxing ring, authorities said. The attorney general has since named a lawyer to lead an outside investigation into the death of Delgado-Garcia, whose funeral was held Saturday.

Delgado-Garcia’s mother and others have said they want answers and accountability from the investigation, and she has raised questions about whether the training exercise was unnecessarily violent. She wasn’t at the protest, but some of Delgado-Garcia’s friends and other relatives had similar questions.

“We are looking for justice and answers,” said Jennifer Verges, who was among several protesters holding a banner with a photo of Delgado-Garcia. “Why isn’t he here to graduate with the others? We mourn his death here.”

Luis Canario, a cousin who held a poster honoring Delgado-Garcia and wore a T-shirt with his image, said he found it hard to believe that Delgado-Garcia could have died in a boxing accident. He was among several who said graduation should have been postponed.

“We don’t think it was right for him not to graduate when everyone else was graduating,” he said. “It’s not fair that despite an ongoing investigation, they are still graduates but one of them, who they call their brother, is not here.”

The protest came amid calls for accountability that extended beyond Delgado-Garcia’s family. The Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston and Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston have both issued public statements calling for transparency in the investigation into Delgado-Garcia’s death.

The state must “immediately suspend anyone who may be involved in and responsible for the fatal boxing match to ensure the safety and well-being of the remaining Massachusetts State Police Academy cadets,” and also make further improvements in safety and accountability, it said Lawyers for Civil Rights said in its statement.

Delgado-Garcia’s death overshadowed celebrations for the 185 soldiers in an auditorium in Worcester. During the ceremony, there was a moment of silence in honor of Delgado-Garcia and recruits wore veiled badges.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and newly appointed Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble all mentioned his name in their addresses to the graduates. They expressed their condolences to his family and acknowledged the challenges the death brought to his fellow recruits.

“Today’s celebration has great significance. “You lost a recruit,” Healey told the crowd.

“Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia answered the call. He accepted the assignment. He and you all wanted to serve. “Trooper Delgado-Garcia was and is a special individual who was determined not only to uphold the law, but also to strengthen his community,” Healey said. “To the members of Enrique’s family, friends and the Worcester community who are here today watching: We continue to mourn with you and pray with you.”

Delgado-Garcia, of Worcester, died after boxing ring practice took place at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree, just over 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Boston. Massachusetts state police said they have suspended full-contact boxing training for recruits following Delgado-Garcia’s death.

Delgado-Garcia was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and moved to Worcester at a young age, according to an obituary on the Mercadante Funeral Home website & Chapel in Worcester. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University in Massachusetts before beginning his career as a victim advocate in the Worcester District Attorney’s Office, the obituary said.

“He never had a bad bone in his body,” Canario said. “He was an upstanding guy. He enjoyed his life but at the same time he also enjoyed helping people. He was always motivated to do better… He pursued that dream and this happened.”