Worcester Superior Court on Thursday received not guilty pleas from a Massachusetts State Police tactical unit supervisor and two instructors accused in connection with the death of recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia after what investigators described as unsafe defensive tactics sparring. The court proceedings took place as relatives of Delgado-Garcia watched, and it followed investigative and prosecutorial steps announced earlier by the state.
Prosecutors said Delgado-Garcia, 25, died at a hospital on Sept. 13, 2024—about a day after he underwent what authorities said was a “medical crisis” and became unresponsive during a defensive tactics exercise in a boxing ring. Authorities said he suffered a concussion during a sparring session and then sustained blunt force injuries the following day, which they linked to what happened during the training.
Massachusetts’ attorney general, Andrea Campbell, appointed investigator David Meier in connection with the case, and Meier announced the charges in February. The charges brought against the troopers included involuntary manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury to a person participating in training, and prosecutors also charged the supervisor with perjury tied to her grand jury testimony.
In court Thursday, Lt. Jennifer Penton—the supervisor and a sergeant at the time she was charged—along with Troopers Edwin Rodriguez and David Montanez entered not guilty pleas to all counts before Worcester Superior Court Judge J. Gavin Reardon Jr. A fourth trooper, Casey LaMonte, was not part of Thursday’s plea hearing and is scheduled for arraignment April 14.
After the pleas, the three troopers were released on personal recognizance under conditions that included having no contact with potential witnesses in the case. Outside the courthouse, Delgado-Garcia’s family attorney, Mike Wilcox, described the day as difficult for the relatives as they remain engaged in the process, saying they want justice for Delgado-Garcia and for the process to be fair.
Troopers’ attorneys said the death was not criminal conduct. Brad Bailey, the lawyer for Penton, said in court that “The tragedy of Trooper Delgado is not a crime. Filing these criminal charges will not bring Trooper Delgado Garcia back,” adding that the Commonwealth’s legal approach would not change the underlying facts or transform the incident into criminal behavior.
Defense lawyers also pushed back on the characterization of the training. Kevin Reddington, who represented Montanez, described the troopers as “good people” and defended the defensive tactics preparation as necessary for recruits’ future crime-fighting duties. Reddington argued it was “reckless conduct” that prosecutors were alleging, and said the training the defendants performed was consistent with rules and regulations and with what has been recognized as valid training.
Brian Williams, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, also defended the troopers, saying that staff were among the best and that established protocols were strictly followed. The case is now headed toward continued pretrial litigation, with LaMonte’s scheduled arraignment set for later this month.
The Massachusetts charges have come despite a broader pattern of how deaths in police training are handled in the criminal-justice system. An Associated Press investigation found more than 30 recruits have died during law-enforcement academies since 2015, with causes ranging from violent or grueling training exercises to heat, exertion and other medical conditions. That investigation said criminal charges have rarely been considered, and it reported that, in reviewing 37 recruit deaths since 2005, it could not find another case that resulted in criminal charges.
As the case continues, both sides are likely to focus on what training officials did and whether the sparring that led to Delgado-Garcia’s concussion and later blunt-force injuries was carried out in a way that met safety expectations.