State police promise 'meaningful action' after report on training death

An independent review of State Police Academy training in the wake of a trooper's death in 2024 calls for 100 changes, including stronger leadership, enhancing the curriculum and improving wellness supports for trainees.

Mass. State Police Superintendent Colonel Geoffrey Noble is promising reforms and is delaying the training of new troopers until some changes are made.

Gov. Maura Healey ordered the review after the death of trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia during a training exercise in 2024.

Delgado-Garcia, 25, was knocked unconscious during a boxing match that was part of his training and later died. Noble said the Academy has already taken some steps, such as permanently ending boxing and "head-strike" activities.

"We will honor Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia's life and service with the Massachusetts State Police through meaningful action," Noble said Tuesday, as he publicly released the independent review at State Police headquarters in Framingham.

Noble also said that state police are working to provide "balanced" stress training so troopers are prepared for chaotic situations, such as the shooting rampage on Memorial Drive in Cambridge last week where a state trooper helped capture accused shooter Tyler Brown.

The 100-page review, conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, found that the academy meets state-required training standards and provides on-site medical support. But it also detailed dozens of recommended changes.

Noble said 31 of the recommendations are priorities and will be implemented before the next training class resumes. The class scheduled to start in June has been postponed for at least the next few months.

"That delay will also allow us time as a department to implement these changes and ensure that they are in place so that our academy staff and our entire department are trained to the standard and are ready to meet the new challenges and the new programs," Noble said.

A separate investigation by the state attorney general's office earlier this year resulted in the indictments of four State Police Academy staff members on charges related to Delgado-Garcia's death.

Noble said the state police will hire a new civilian director of training for the academy who will help develop what he called a "balanced stress training curriculum," to prepare recruits for stressful situations in the field. An outside monitor will review the department's implementation of the recommendations, which Noble expects will take about five years to complete.

"The Massachusetts State Police is committed, and I am confident that through our implementation team that we are here for the long haul," Noble said. "And we will take the time that it takes to ensure that these recommendations are implemented and implemented properly."