WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A group of protesters set up outside the Massachusetts State Police Academy graduation in Worcester demanding answers about a trooper recruit’s death in September.
Dozens of new state troopers joined the force Wednesday in a ceremony at the DCU Center arena, with the ceremony pausing for a moment of silence in memory of Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who would have been part of the graduating troop. The 25-year-old trainee died after collapsing during a boxing exercise at an MSP training facility in New Braintree.
He was pinned with his trooper’s badge hours before he died on Sept. 13.
Frustrated and heartbroken relatives and friends of Delgado-Garcia gathered outside the graduation ceremony, demanding justice. An independent investigator, well-known defense attorney and former prosecutor David Meier, was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding his death.
“He was only three weeks away when this happened, from graduating, and now we’re standing here when it should be a happy day for all of us and the family and here to support him, and now, we’re here asking for justice,” said Luis Canario, Delgado-Garcia’s cousin.
At the ceremony for the 185 newly sworn-in troopers, officials played a video of Delgado-Garcia highlighting his commitment to law enforcement.
“My name is Enrique Delgado-Garcia, from Worcester, Mass.,” the late recruit said in the video.
Gov. Maura Healey honored and remembered Delgado-Garcia, who dreamed of becoming a state trooper.
“To members of Enrique’s family, friends, and the Worcester community who are here today and watching, we continue to grieve with you and to pray with you,” the governor said in a speech.
The investigation into his death is ongoing.
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