The Massachusetts State Police says it has implemented “significant reforms” to its academy program ahead of Monday’s entrance of the new training class.
“The Massachusetts State Police Academy has a unique responsibility to impart the knowledge, skills, judgment, and leadership trainees need to meet the demands of modern policing and serve the public with honor and professionalism,” said Colonel Geoffrey Noble, the MSP chief.
Nobel had in May said he was delaying the 93rd Recruitment class “until such time that I and our leadership team … are confident that the priority recommendations that we’ve identified have been implemented.”
Since that time, the agency says it has implemented 22 priority recommendations identified in a report issued earlier this year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
The MSP says those priority reforms include:
— Taking an “instructional approach,” in which the title of “drill instructor” has been eliminated to make way for individualized instructor-led “specialized training in topics including defensive tactics, emergency vehicle operation, firearms, patrol procedure, and criminal law.”
— The development of a new “stress framework” with the input of a medical stress training expert, Dr. Jennifer Prohaska, “intended to ensure that stress serves clearly defined training objectives while supporting recruit development, safety, and readiness for the demands of policing.”
— New graduation standards to reinforce “expectations for trainees” and “for evaluating readiness to graduate and serve as a State Trooper.”
Finally, the MSP announced a new Academy leadership team “to advance a consistent, safety-focused approach to recruit training.”
Andrea Nardone will serve as the civilian director of training. She made the move from chief of training at the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee where she oversaw training for 15 municipal police academies throughout the commonwealth.
MSP Captain Michael Blanchette will serve as the Academy commandant. He has been a law enforcement officer for 28 years, first with the Chicopee PD before joining the State Police as a member of the 76th Recruit Training Troop. He has served as an instructor at the Academy since 2019.
Dean Aresco will serve as the director of physical training.
“These reforms are an important investment in the next generation of State Troopers, the communities they serve, and public safety across the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Gina Kwon.
Ready for reform
The Academy in New Braintree and MSP training policies were the subject of great scrutiny after 25-year-old recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia died following a boxing match there in September 2024.
Investigation since has indicated that the recruit was exhibiting concussion symptoms from a boxing match the day before he was knocked out.
The MSP says that concussion-awareness training for Academy instructors has been implemented under the guidance of Eric Otterson, PA-C, a physician assistant affiliated with UMass Memorial Health. It has also implemented periods for rest, recovery, and personal care in the recruit training schedule as well as training on injury-prevention strategies.
The attention on the Academy came amid public outcry when major failings of its Norfolk County detachment’s investigation into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe in January of 2022 that were exposed during the two trials of murder defendant Karen Read.
In the summer of 2025, the MSP announced planned reforms it had labeled an “Excellence Initiative” that Noble defined as a “strategic plan to modernize how we operate, deepen public trust and support every member of this department with the structures, training and leadership needed to succeed.”
Nobel first announced portions of the initiative in a statement issued the same day as Read’s acquittal for O’Keefe’s murder: “The events of the last three years have challenged our Department to thoroughly review our actions and take concrete steps.”
Nobel solicited the IACP to assess the agency’s training and standards. The organization identified 103 areas for reform.
Its report found that while the academy met training requirements and “benefits from highly dedicated staff, a strong sense of institutional pride, robust on-site medical capability, and a comprehensive curriculum,” it suffers from “systemic and cultural challenges that significantly affect trainee safety, learning, morale, and retention.”
Nobel in September appointed PFM Group Consulting LLC (PFMGC) to oversee its implementation of those IACP-identified reforms.
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