A fundraiser for the family of Enrique Delgado-Garcia, the State Police recruit who died from injuries during a boxing training exercise earlier this month, is more than two-thirds of the way to its $60,000 goal.
“Humbled and thankful for everyone’s concerns, donations, and contributions as we mourn the unexpected loss of our dearest and beloved son, brother, cousin, and friend, Enrique!” Sandra Garcia, the organizer of the “Justice for Enrique Delgado-Garcia” fundraiser wrote. “May God bless all who have shown care, concern, and support in any way during this time of irreparable loss!”
The GoFundMe fundraiser had raised more than $43,000 of a $60,000 goal by mid-afternoon Tuesday. A GoFundMe spokesperson said the organization had verified that the fundraiser is a legitimate one to support the family.
Delgado-Garcia, 25, worked as a victim witness advocate in the Worcester District Attorney’s office for about a year and a half before joining the Massachusetts State Police in April as a member of its 90th Recruit Training Troop, according to the agency.
He died after he “became unresponsive” during a boxing training exercise at the MSP Academy in New Braintree on Sept. 12. The MSP says it has “the only State Police Boxing Team in the country,” the Herald previously reported, and uses boxing training to teach troopers how to defend themselves in hand-to-hand combat.
New Braintree is in Worcester County, so the investigation fell to the Worcester DA’s office, which soon thereafter announced it had recused itself from the investigation because Delgado-Garcia was a former employee. DA Joseph Early Jr. said he didn’t want to hand it off to another DA’s office, as each one has a connected MSP detective bureau, and instead wanted an independent investigation.
Over the course of a week and a half-long delay, many, including state senators and the ACLU, were calling for the investigation to get underway. Finally, on Monday, state Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office appointed David Meier, currently a partner at Todd & Weld LLP, as special investigator for the the death.
Meier previously served as chief of the homicide division at the Suffolk DA’s office and was special counsel in the investigation of the Hinton Drug Lab scandal, according to Campbell’s announcement.
This is a developing story.
