The Massachusetts State Police have suspended full-contact boxing training activities among recruits until further notice after a trainee died, a police spokesperson said.Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, of Worcester, died at a hospital on Sept.
13, a day after the exercise in the boxing ring at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree, in Worcester County, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Boston.Delgado-Garcia was wearing boxing gloves and headgear during the exercise.The medical team determined he required urgent care and took him to the hospital, where he died.
His manner and cause of death have not been released.Family members told reporters that he suffered broken teeth and a neck fracture.“The Academy suspended full-contact boxing training activities between trainees until further notice,” Tim McGuirk, a state police department spokesperson, said in a statement Sunday night.
On the day of the exercise, Col.John Mawn Jr., head of the state police, requested an investigation by the agency's detective unit that is assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's office, McGuirk said.
Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.said last week that he will name another agency to investigate because of a conflict of interest.
Delgado-Garcia worked in his office as a victim witness advocate before joining the state police training program in April.“The department is fully cooperating with investigatory authorities and urges the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office to name an independent investigator as soon as possible,” McGuirk said.
Mawn also directed the state police's Division of Standards and Training “to comprehensively review the Academy’s defensive tactics program,” McGuirk said.“That review remains ongoing and will ensure that the program delivers relevant skills safely and effectively to those preparing to become troopers,” he said.
The review is assessing safety protocols, training methods and curricul...