AGAWAM – In the aftermath of Enrique Delgado Garcia death after boxing training with the Massachusetts State Police, the I-Team uncovered a similar case decades ago in which a recruit died after excessive police training.
“He’s Not Coming Back”
For nearly four decades, Timothy Shepard’s sisters held on to the newspaper clippings about his death and his family’s demand for justice. His sister Terry Shepard said it was justice they never got, telling the I-Team, “He’s not coming back.”
Tim Shepard was only 25 years old in 1988. He grew up in a large, close-knit family. He was newly married, had a baby on the way and wanted to become a cop. By all accounts, his sister Sarah was a good guy. He said he volunteered at the boys club, worked with children and is still remembered by those in the community as a great coach and mentor.
Shepard family
At the time, he worked as a civilian for the Pittsfield Police Department. Shepard was accepted into the Agawam Police Academy, where they trained officers for regional departments. It was run by the Massachusetts State Police. Sarah Shepard said Tim was in great physical shape. He had been preparing for almost a year, running and watching his weight.
September 19 was Tim Shepard’s first day of training. Sarah Shepard said she remembers how hot and humid it was that day. Terry Shepard, who was older, remembers the rest of the details. “It was around four o’clock and they were running outside onto the track in heavy gray jogging clothes. And at one point my brother ran to the side and sat down. People went over to help him and they were told not to sit down.” because, you know, he wasn’t stronger, so at that moment he was lying in the sun, in the heat, and from that moment on he convulsed and his organs shut down.
Fallen into a coma
Suffering from severe dehydration, Tim Shepard was taken by ambulance to Baystate Hospital, where he fell into a coma. Terry Shepard said he was transferred to Pittsburgh, where he received a liver transplant but never fully regained consciousness. He died less than six weeks later. More than a dozen other classmates also fell ill and required medical treatment.
“He was overworked and had no water. He was abused and had no water,” Sarah Shepard said.
Days after Shepard’s death, an attorney general’s investigation found massive failures in the system, leading to unlawful training. Sarah Shepard said the training was ineffective and inhumane, and that the recruits were supervised and directed by people they had to trust. Terry Shepard said not much has changed. “It all screamed to build you up so they could tear you down and start over with that mentality of training. That mentality is still there.” Both sisters said the cycle needs to be broken.
Now, decades later, Delgado-Garcia’s death opened old wounds for the family. The state police trainee died after boxing training.
“This poor family should not have to go through what they are going through. Another 25-year-old young man should not have died. I really hope the family finds out what happened,” Sarah Shepard said.
An independent researcher is investigating it Delgado-Garcia’s death. In the Shepard case, a judge opened an investigation into his death and recommended charging three state troopers with involuntary manslaughter. The attorney general declined to charge them.
