Massachusetts police recruit dies after boxing training exercise

A Massachusetts state police recruit died a day after he became unresponsive and suffered a “medical crisis” during a defensive tactics training exercise, authorities said.

While authorities would not elaborate, the Boston CBS affiliate WBZ reported that Enrique Delgado-Garcia was mortally injured during a boxing exercise that was a standard part of the police academy which he was attending. He was knocked out for nearly 10 minutes after absorbing a blow to the head, the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with details about the recruit’s death, which occurred less than a month before he was set to graduate from the training academy.

Delgado-Garcia, 25, died at a hospital on Friday, a day after the exercise at the Massachusetts state police academy in New Braintree, an agency spokesperson, Tim McGuirk, said in a statement.

McGuirk said the academy’s on-site medical team responded immediately after Delgado-Garcia became unresponsive. They determined that he required urgent medical care and took him to the hospital, where he died.

Delgado-Garcia’s mother told reporters with NBC10 Boston and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra that he was hit and injured.

“I don’t understand why it was so rough if it was just training,” Sandra Garcia said in Spanish. “I want them to explain it to me, that the state explains to me what happened with 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, my son.”

Such police training can cover a range of physical encounters to defend against tackles, punches and other attacks. McGuirk did not specify the type of exercise Delgado-Garcia took part in.

McGuirk told the Associated Press in an email that Delgado-Garcia was a Worcester resident and had entered the training program in 9 April. The class will graduate on 9 October.

“The Massachusetts state police administered the oath of office in Enrique Delgado-Garcia’s final hours of life,” McGuirk said. “He was surrounded by family, loved ones, and classmates during the bilingual ceremony, which culminated in him being pinned with his trooper badge.”

Delgado-Garcia’s body was transported from the hospital to the medical examiner’s facility in Westfield on Saturday evening.

“The matter is under review and the review has been active and ongoing since we were notified of the incident on Thursday,” Lindsay Corcoran, a spokesperson for the Worcester county district attorney’s office, said in a statement on Saturday.

Delgado-Garcia once worked as a victim witness advocate in that district attorney’s office.

A spokesperson for the State Police Association of Massachusetts directed questions on what happened to Delgado-Garcia to the state police department.

Col John Mawn Jr of the state police said in a statement that his department “is committed to providing support and resources to trainee Delgado-Garcia’s family, friends, and fellow academy recruits in the coming days and weeks as they cope with this unimaginable loss”.

The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, issued a statement saying she was heartbroken about the loss of Delgado-Garcia.

“He was a beloved member of his academy class, known for his compassion and devotion to service,” she said. “This is a devastating time for all who knew and loved him, and we are holding Enrique’s family and his State Police community in our hearts.”