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AG taps independent investigator to lead probe of Mass. State Police recruit’s death
David Meier, an attorney with a background in government investigations, said the probe will be conducted "professionally, thoroughly, and responsibly."
A veteran trial attorney with a background in government investigations will lead the probe into the death of Massachusetts State Police recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia, Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced Monday.
David Meier, an attorney with the Boston-based firm Todd & Weld, will oversee the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Delgado-Garcia’s death, Campbell said in a news release. Delgado-Garcia died earlier this month after he was fatally injured during a training exercise in a boxing ring, authorities previously said.
Campbell said Meier — who leads the Government Investigations and Criminal Defense Practice Group at Todd & Weld — will operate independently and impartially, with “complete authority” to select his own investigative and legal team and make decisions about the facts, evidence, and course of the investigation.
Previously:
“The investigation into Trooper Delgado-Garcia’s death will be undertaken professionally, thoroughly, and responsibly,” Meier said in a statement. “The Delgado-Garcia family, their community, and the public have been waiting patiently. It is now time to get to work.”
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Delgado-Garcia, a 25-year-old Worcester resident, died Sept. 13 after he became unresponsive during an exercise at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree. State Police administered the oath of office to Delgado-Garcia shortly before he died.
Delgado-Garcia’s close friend and one of his former classmates from the academy later spoke out about allegedly grueling training conditions, and State Police suspended full-contact boxing training among recruits until further notice.
Meanwhile, questions about the events leading up to Delgado-Garcia’s death abound; his family previously told NBC10 Boston and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra he was missing teeth and had suffered a broken neck and a brain injury. The Worcester County District Attorney’s Office opted to step aside and hand the investigation off, as Delgado-Garcia previously worked for the office as a victim witness advocate.
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“There’s no way this office can handle this,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said last week as he stood with members of Delgado-Garcia’s family and briefed reporters on the case. “Everyone loved Enrique.”
As he takes over the investigation, Meier will have support from the Attorney General’s Office, which will receive briefings throughout the process, Campbell noted Monday. State Police will have no role in the investigative team or decision-making process, per the news release.
Meier previously served as special counsel to former Gov. Deval Patrick from 2012 to 2013, overseeing the investigation into the identification of all individuals potentially impacted by the Hinton State Drug Laboratory scandal, according to the release. Meier also spent 12 years as the chief of homicide in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where he supervised the investigation and prosecution of homicide cases.
In a statement, Campbell cited Meier’s “deep experience in death investigations” and said he will ensure the investigation’s independence and integrity.
“Trooper Delgado-Garcia lost his life while training to protect and serve the Commonwealth, and I want to thank his family and the public for their patience as we sought to identify the most appropriate authority to investigate the facts surrounding his tragic death,” Campbell said.
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