Colin A. Young
State House News Service

The State Police has not used boxing as part of its defensive tactics training since the 2024 death of a cadet following a training exercise in a boxing ring, and Col. Geoffrey Noble said Tuesday it is unlikely to ever return.

Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, of Worcester, died Sept. 13, 2024 following a training exercise in a boxing ring at the State Police Academy in New Braintree. Four State Police officials have been indicted on criminal charges based on allegations that they "committed a series of wanton and reckless acts in connection with various defensive tactics and physical confrontation training exercises conducted at the academy."

Rep. Kip Diggs, a former professional boxer, asked about the status of boxing at the training academy during a public safety-focused budget hearing in Foxborough on Tuesday. Noble, who was appointed to lead the State Police weeks after Delgado-Garcia's death, said an independent review by the International Association of Chiefs of Police is in its final stages and is expected to make recommendations for changes at the academy.

"It is my belief that the boxing program in its prior format will not come back. I believe that we need to take a moment in time and be consistent with the law enforcement training across the nation," Noble told Diggs before requesting his input as a former boxer. "Across the nation has shifted to more of a jujitsu style, a more controlling technique style, based self-defense training and my own tracking of national best practices."

In a recent white paper, the National Sheriffs’ Association detailed the evidence it found to show "that these grappling tactics work and provide benefits that other types of training do not."

"With community trust at an all-time low, rising crime rates amongst a number of cities, and overworked personnel, proven strategies rooted in grappling or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu-inspired principles offer a promising solution," the paper said. "By emphasizing control, de-escalation, and minimal use of force, BJJ-inspired training presents a paradigm shift from traditional methods."