(WGGB/WSHM) – Four members of the Massachusetts State Police are facing charges following an investigation into the death of a recruit.

In September 2024, Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who was training to become a trooper, died after he became unresponsive and suffered a “medical crisis” during a defensive tactics training exercise at the State Police Academy in New Braintree. After his death, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, citing a conflict of interest of Delgado-Garcia formerly working in the D.A.’s office, asked Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell to appoint an independent investigator to look into the case.

On Monday, the independent investigator, Attorney David Meier, and Campbell announced that a grand jury returned indictments against four Massachusetts State Police officials – Sgt. Jennifer Penton, Trooper Edwin Rodriguez, Trooper David Montanez, and Trooper Casey LaMonte - on charges of involuntary manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury to a person participating in a training program involving physical exercise. Penton is facing an additional charge of perjury. Each person will be summoned to appear in court for arraignment in the near future.

Meier explained that the indictment came after his investigation, which included over 150 witnesses, many of whom have been State Police officers, and a review of nearly 350 exhibits, including policies, procedures, activities, and events at the academy. He alleged, prior to September 12, 2024, members of the academy allegedly “committed a series of wanton and reckless acts in connection with various ‘Defensive Tactics’ and ‘Physical Confrontation’ training exercises conducted at the Academy.” He noted that the conduct resulted in Delgado-Garcia suffering concussion-like symptoms “as the result of unauthorized, unapproved, and unsupervised boxing-related sparring exercises that occurred during Academy training activities on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.”

Delgado-Garcia reportedly suffered several blunt force injuries to the head and brain bleeding “as the result of the failure of Academy staff to intervene and bring a stop to a competitive boxing match between Mr. Delgado-Garcia and a fellow trainee that occurred during Academy training activities the following morning, Thursday, September 12, 2024,” according to Meier. Delgado-Garcia died the next day from those injuries.

Meier noted that Penton, Rodriguez, Montanez, and LaMonte - who were members of the academy’s Defensive Tactics Unit - interacted with Delgado-Garcia on September 11, when he suffered concussion-like symptoms, and September 12, when he was knocked unconscious, and they had “direct management and direct control over the physical training exercises themselves.” He added, “Factually and legally, each of these individuals owed a duty of care to Enrique Delgado Garcia and his fellow trainees, each of them interacted with Mr. Delgado Garcia and his fellow trainees on a daily basis, and each of them committed a series of wanton and reckless acts and omissions that resulted in Enrique Delgado Garcia’s death.”

“State police trainees selflessly commit themselves to public service, and those responsible for training them have a duty to protect them from preventable harm. In no way is this investigation, and the charges it has yielded, a condemnation of all law enforcement. We can both honor the men and women who serve and protect our communities, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances, while also ensuring accountability within the system, especially when someone dies,” Campbell said in a statement.

Following Delgado-Garcia‘s death, State Police suspended the use of boxing as part of the defensive tactic curriculum. The suspension continued through the rest of Delgado-Garcia‘s recruitment classes, as well as the next two classes, and Noble continued that suspension in May 2025, as part of several other changes made at the academy.

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