The ceremony to graduate the 185 members of the 90th Massachusetts State Police Recruit Training Troop was bittersweet, replete with reminders to the loss of Enrique Delgado-Garcia, a member of the class who died in a horrific way at the academy.
“Today we celebrate the accomplishments of the 185 troopers of the 90th recruit troop,” the new MSP leader, Col. Geoffrey Noble, said at the conclusion of the nearly three-hour graduation ceremony Wednesday. “I also want to acknowledge that this special day comes in the wake of tragedy, immense tragedy. Ninetieth RTT, I offer you my deepest condolences for the loss of your brother, Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia.
“In reading about this extraordinary young man, it is clear to me that Trooper Delgado-Garcia had a vocation, a vocation to serve. To serve others as a member of law enforcement,” Noble continued in his first major outing as the new leader. “We know he was encouraged to stay at the DA’s office and continue to support victims of crime, but like so many of you, he could not ignore the call to service, the call in his heart. The call to join the Massachusetts State Police.”
He spoke as the assembled graduates stood at parade rest in Worcester’s DCU Center. Each one had within the previous hour been pinned with the MSP badge, whose design dates back to 1921 but was on this day bound with a ceremonial black band to honor Delgado-Garcia. What would have been his badge number adorns the crest of the class.
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Gov. Maura Healey said that the day was indeed a celebration of the “hard work and perseverance” the graduates had to get to be troopers, but a celebration that carried “a great weight.”
“Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia answered the call. He took the assignment,” she said. “Trooper Delgado-Garcia was and is a special person, determined to not only uphold the law, but uplift his community. To members of Enrique’s family, friends, and the Worcester community who are here today and watching, we continue to grieve with you and to pray with you.”
Delgado-Garcia, 25, of Worcester, was killed last month after suffering a “medical crisis,” the MSP said, in a boxing “training exercise” at the academy. The ACLU in a statement described his injuries as “incredibly severe” and included “damage to his brain, a broken neck, and missing teeth.”
The ceremony featured a video of Delgado-Garcia himself speaking of his great excitement at becoming a trooper.
“Prior to the Academy I worked at the Worcester DA’s office as a victim/witness advocate. The reason I stayed is because I wanted to help people; I wanted to be there for them on their worst days and make that bad day a little bit better,” he said in the video where he was seated in front of a blow-up of the MSP logo and sporting his recruit uniform. “The reason I stay is that I want to help people and all my fellow hispanics can do the same — be officers and help make the world a better place.”
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Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell thanked Delgado-Garcia’s family and friends for their patience as the investigation, which was notably delayed after the Worcester DA’s office recused itself, into his death continues. She further called on the new troopers to hold their heads high and to “honor Enrique’s memory in the best way possible by being the very best troopers you can be.”
“As I waited to go into the funeral home to extend my condolences to Enrique’s family and friends and former colleagues in Worcester, I saw all of you, graduates, walking in formation, holding your heads high and tears rolling down many of your faces,” she said.
“While this may not be the media narrative, I know you, too, share in the grief and mourning that Enrique’s family is sharing. I know that you also feel the very same pain that his mother, his sisters, his father and stepfather and relatives are experiencing. And it’s ok to not be ok, to cry and share that grief. In vulnerability there is absolutely healing and, I would add, tremendous strength,” she continued.
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
Gov. Maura Healey observes the new Troopers during graduation ceremonies for the state police 90th Recruit Training Troop. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
Colonel Geoffrey Noble applauds new troopers during graduation ceremonies for the state police 90th Recruit Training Troop. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Worcester, MA – New Troopers stand during graduation ceremonies for the state police 90th Recruit Training Troop. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Courtesy / MSP
Massachusetts State Police recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia as seen in a still from a video featured at the graduation ceremony for the 90th MSP Recruit Training Troop. (Courtesy / MSP)
Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.
The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.
Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.
“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”
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The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.
“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”
Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.
At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.
“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.
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Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.
“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.
The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.
“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.
Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.
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“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”
With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.
Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.
The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.
The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.
For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.
The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.
The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.
Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.
That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!
Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.
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