The next State Police recruit class will be delayed pending the implementation of dozens of safety and training recommendations in response to a the death of a cadet at the agency’s academy, said Colonel Geoffrey Noble.
“That class will be delayed until further notice,” Noble said, “and until such time that I and our leadership team are briefed, and are satisfied, and are confident that the priority recommendations that we’ve identified have been implemented.”
The 93rd Recruit Training Troop was set to start at the academy in New Braintree in next month.
Noble’s remarks came along with the release Wednesday of an assessment of the State Police Academy that was commissioned after the death of trooper trainee Enrique Delgado Garcia following a boxing exercise at the academy in September 2024.
The report was completed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“This department continues to mourn the loss of Trooper Delgado Garcia,” Noble said. “I renew our commitment to honoring his life, his service.”
The 100-plus-page report that cost just under $600,000 and about a year and half to complete found that the academy meets both the standards set by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Municipal Police Training Committee.
“However, the review identified systemic and cultural challenges that significantly affect trainee safety, learning, and morale, and retention,” the report said.
Although the report found that the academy had dedicated personnel and a robust medical staff on-site, it also highlighted several issues, including:
- High turnover in academy leadership
- Higher attrition rates of cadets than other academies
- Inconsistencies in curriculum
- Aging facilities and a lack of data-based systems
After receiving the report, Noble formed a 10-person working group of both officers and civilians who came up with 31 recommendations from the report that need to be completed or underway before the next class can begin.
Noble acknowledged that this delay could put a strain on the department, which relies on the new recruit to fill roles as other troopers enter retirement. He didn’t offer a timeline on when the academy would start but said that the working group would convene at the end of the summer to check in on the recommendations’ progress.
Among the recommendations are changes to the stress level of the academy, which is currently highly militarized, to become a more balanced system and a move to a “safety-first culture.” The State Police will also hire a civilian director to work alongside the academy’s commandant and institute baseline physical and psychological screenings for recruits before the academy begins.
Boxing and other head strike activities will also be permanently banned, Noble said.
The report did not focus specifically on how and why Delgado Garcia died after the boxing exercises. Noble said that was because of the criminal proceedings and investigation into his death that are on-going.
Four troopers — the supervisor of the defensive tactics unit Lt. Jennifer Penton and three instructors Casey LaMonte, Edwin Rodriguez, and David Montanez — have been charged with manslaughter in connection to his death.
— Developing
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