4 Mass. State Police troopers charged in death of recruit suspended with pay

"The four State Police members facing criminal charges related to the 2024 death of recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia have been suspended with pay, the agency said. Lt. Jennifer Penton and Troopers Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez, and Casey LaMonte were initially relieved of duty last week. The State Police held duty status hearings for each of the four members, after which they could have been retained on full duty, placed on restricted duty, suspended with pay, or suspended without pay."

"After reviewing all available information, Penton, Rodriguez, Montanez, and LaMonte were each suspended with pay, MSP said Thursday. If additional information becomes available through judicial processes, the department said, additional duty status hearings could be scheduled. Delgado-Garcia, 25, died Sept. 13, 2024 a day after becoming unresponsive during a defensive tactics exercise and suffering a " medical crisis." He died accidentally of blunt-force injuries to his head, his family's lawyer told the media last year."

"After an independent investigation conducted by independent attorney David Meier, the supervisor and three full-time instructors at the State Police training academy were each charged with causing serious bodily injury to participants in a physical exercise training program and involuntary manslaughter. Penton, the supervisor who graduated from the State Police Academy in 2016, was also charged with perjury. She allegedly lied under oath when asked when she first learned about Delgado-Garcia's concussion-like symptoms, Meier last week."

Four State Police members — Lt. Jennifer Penton and Troopers Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez, and Casey LaMonte — were suspended with pay after duty status hearings while facing criminal charges related to the death of recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia. Delgado-Garcia, 25, became unresponsive during a defensive tactics exercise on Sept. 13, 2024 and died a day later from blunt-force injuries to his head. An independent investigation by attorney David Meier led to charges of causing serious bodily injury and involuntary manslaughter against the supervisor and three full-time instructors; Penton also faces a perjury charge. Additional hearings may follow if judicial information emerges.

Read at Boston.com