Massachusetts State Police’s training academy is once again the center of controversy. The agency — which over the years has been accused of running overly harsh and at times crude training programs that have clearly contributed to record high dropout rates – has announced that State Police trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia died after suffering a “medical crisis during a defensive tactics training and became unresponsive,” according to a report at NBC Boston.

But then there’s this: “Delgado’s family said their loved one suffered a broken neck, missing teeth and severe brain damage and are now demanding accountability as well as an explanations to what went on inside the walls of the academy.” An unnamed friend is quoted by NBC as saying: “I’m ashamed of MSP, and I feel like they need to thoroughly investigate this and justice needs to be brought because its not okay how they’re treating these troops.”  

So … here we go again? The Healey administration needs to get to the bottom of this. … I’ve previously argued (scroll down to June 26) that maybe, just maybe, the State Police’s long and sad history of scandal after scandal just might be tied to who and how they hire. As I wrote in June: “The bottom line: the agency has prioritized brawn over brains for years, no matter how much they deny that’s the case.”

Update – The ‘defensive tactics training’ cited by the State Police was actually a required boxing exercise, CBS reports.