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Four Massachusetts police academy educators are expected to face charges over the death of a cadet during an unauthorized boxing match.
Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, suffered a concussion after a sparring session and then participated in what investigators described as an “unapproved and unsafe” boxing match the next day.
The two incidents led to the cadet suffering a massive brain bleed and he died in hospital on September 13, 2024, according to investigators.
The fight was being overseen by Lt. Jennifer Penton, the supervisor and a sergeant at the time, prosecutors said, along with Troopers Edwin Rodriguez and David Montanez. It took place in New Braintree, Massachusetts, around 80 miles west of Boston.
All three were arraigned in Worcester Superior Court Thursday and charged with involuntary manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury to a person participating in a training program involving physical exercise.
David Meier, who was appointed by the Massachusetts attorney general to investigate Delgado-Garcia’s death, said the unsafe sparring sessions led to the cadet becoming concussed.
A day later, the investigator said, the trainee sustained “multiple blunt force injuries to the head and massive brain bleeding” after academy staff failed to stop a training boxing match.
All three defendants entered not guilty pleas on the charges at Thursday’s hearing. They were released on personal recognizance bail, meaning they did not need to pay, and were ordered not to have any contact with potential witnesses.
Penton is also charged with perjury after being accused of giving repeated false answers during the investigation. Her arraignment on that charge is scheduled for later this month.
The manslaughter case for Penton, Rodriguez and Montanez is due back in court on June 16 for a pretrial conference, but the three troopers are able to be excused from appearing in person.
A fourth trooper who investigators say was also present at the time of the incident, Casey LaMonte, is expected to be arraigned on April 14.
When the charges were announced in February, Brian Williams, the president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said “the veteran training staff indicted today are entitled to the same presumption of innocence and due process guaranteed to every citizen.”
He said the association stands behind its members and will vigorously defend them while working with the department to improve training standards.
“These are good people. These are not people who are violent,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington said during Thursday’s hearing, per CBS.
The Associated Press reports Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell told reporters in February that it was important that an independent, impartial investigation be conducted.
It follows calls from several advocacy groups and Delgado-Garcia’s family and friends for those responsible for his death to be held accountable.
“The family is relieved there has been progress in the case from the beginning,” their attorney, Mike Wilcox, said at the time, adding that there was “light at the end of the tunnel in terms of accountability.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
