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A big law enforcement presence gathered in Worcester on Saturday to honor a state police recruit who died after becoming unresponsive during a training exercise.

Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, died in a hospital on September 13, a day after he became unresponsive and suffered a “medical crisis” during a defensive tactics exercise in a boxing ring, authorities said. The attorney general has since named a lawyer to steer an outdoor investigation into the death of Delgado-Garcia, whose funeral was held Saturday.

Delgado-Garcia's mother and others have said they need answers and accountability from the investigation, and he or she has raised questions on whether the training exercise was unnecessarily violent.

On Saturday, police carried Delgado-Garcia's casket, decorated with an American flag, from a funeral home as a part of the service. A bagpiper played “Going Home” and Gov. Maura Healey ordered flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff.

Delgado-Garcia's funeral got here amid calls for accountability that spread beyond his family. The Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston and Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston have each issued public statements calling for transparency within the investigation into Delgado-Garcia's death.

The state must “immediately suspend anyone who may be involved in and responsible for the fatal boxing match to ensure the safety and well-being of the remaining Massachusetts State Police Academy cadets,” and in addition make further improvements in safety and accountability, it said Lawyers for Civil Rights said in its statement.

Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment Saturday.

Delgado-Garcia, of Worcester, died after boxing ring practice took place on the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree, just over 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Boston. Massachusetts state police said they’ve suspended full-contact boxing training for recruits following Delgado-Garcia's death.

Delgado-Garcia was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and moved to Worcester at a young age, in response to an obituary on the Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel website in Worcester. He earned a bachelor's degree from Westfield State University in Massachusetts before starting his profession as a victim advocate within the Worcester District Attorney's Office, the obituary said.

“Enrique was an exceptional young man who was dedicated to serving others. “He always dreamed of becoming a state trooper and being someone great who made a difference in the lives of people in his community,” the obituary said.

Today is Thursday, September 19, the 263rd day of the yr 2024. There are 103 days left within the yr.

Today in history:

On September 19, 2022, Britain and the world said their final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral attended by presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers, and an enormous crowd within the streets of London.

Also on this date:

In 1796, President George Washington's farewell address was published. In it, the primary American head of presidency advised: “Be true and just to all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”

In 1955, Argentine President Juan Peron was overthrown following an rebellion by the military and navy.

In 1957, the United States conducted its first underground nuclear test, code-named “Rainier,” within the Nevada desert.

In 1985, the world around Mexico City was hit by a devastating earthquake that killed not less than 9,500 people.

In 1988, Olympic diver Greg Louganis suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the springboard in the course of the preliminary round of the 3-meter platform diving event on the Seoul Summer Olympics. Louganis recovered from the injury and won a gold medal within the event the next day.

In 1995, the New York Times and the Washington Post published the manifesto of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski (kah-ZIHN'-skee), which was crucial to his identification and capture.

In 2004, Hu Jintao (hoo jin-tow) became the undisputed leader of China after former President Jiang Zemin (jahng zuh-MEEN') left his highest military post.

In 2008, the Bush administration attempted to avert financial ruin by unveiling a radical bailout plan that might tackle half a trillion dollars or more of worthless mortgages and other bad debts from struggling institutions. Relieved investors sent stock prices soaring on Wall Street and all over the world.

In 2011, Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees recorded his 602nd save, making him the all-time leader in baseball in that category.

Today's birthdays:

• Actress Rosemary Harris is 97.
• Singer-songwriter Paul Williams is 84.
• Singer Bill Medley (The Righteous Brothers) is 84.
• Singer Sylvia Tyson (Ian and Sylvia) is 84.
• R&B singer Freda Payne is 82.
• Actor Jeremy Irons is 76.
• Model and actor Twiggy Lawson is 75.
• TV personality Joan Lunden is 74.
• Musician and producer Nile Rodgers is 72.
• Rock singer Lita Ford is 66.
• The musician Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) is 62.
• Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 60.
• Senator Tim Scott, RS.C., is 59.
• News anchor Soledad O'Brien is 58.
• Actress Sanaa Lathan (suh-NAH' LAY'-thun) is 53.
• “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon is 50.
• Actor Columbus Short is 42.

Today is Friday, September 6, the 250th day of the yr 2024. There are 116 days left within the yr.

Today in history:

On September 6, 1997, a public funeral for Princess Diana was held at Westminster Abbey in London, six days after her death in a automobile accident in Paris.

Also on this date:

In 1901, President William McKinley was shot and fatally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz (CHAWL'-gawsh) on the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. (McKinley died eight days later and was succeeded by his vice chairman, Theodore Roosevelt.)

In 1972, the Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, at some point after the deadly hostage-taking that left 11 Israelis, five Arab kidnappers and a West German policeman dead.

In 1975, 18-year-old tennis star Martina Navratilova from Czechoslovakia, who was in New York for the US Open, applied for political asylum within the United States.

In 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles played his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old MLB record. Ripken's winning streak eventually reached a record-breaking 2,632 games.

In 2006, President George W. Bush admitted for the primary time that the CIA operated secret prisons abroad and stated that terrorist leaders had been forced through “harsh” interrogation techniques to disclose plans to attack the United States and its allies.

In 2018, India's Supreme Court decriminalized consensual sex between adults and legalized homosexuality within the country.

In 2022, Liz Truss took office as British Prime Minister; just 49 days later, she resigned.

Today's birthdays:

• Comedian JoAnne Worley is 87.
• The cartoonist Sergio Aragonés is 87.
• Country singer-songwriter David Allan Coe is 85.
• The rock singer and musician Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) is 81.
• Comedian and actress Jane Curtin is 77.
• Actor and comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 66.
• Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is 62.
• Television journalist Elizabeth Vargas is 62.
• Country singer-songwriter Mark Chesnutt is 61.
• Actress Rosie Perez is 60.
• R&B singer Macy Gray is 57.
• Actor Idris Elba is 52.
• Actress Justina Machado is 52.
• Actress Anika Noni Rose is 52.
• Actress Naomie Harris is 48.
• Rapper Foxy Brown is 46.
• Actress/singer Deborah Joy Winans is 41.
• Actress and comedian Lauren Lapkus is 39.
• Actor Asher Angel is 22.

In June 2024Colorado has passed two laws that tighten the regulations on the funeral industry. The laws follows several incidents in funeral homes across the state where human stays were mistreated and in some cases relations fake ashes from family members.

The Conversation US spoke with Tanya D. Marsha professor at Wake Forest University who teaches the nation's only course on funeral and cemetery law, to higher understand whether Colorado's latest laws will prevent future funeral home scandals.

Can you describe the scandals?

In recent years, there have been two major burial scandals in Colorado.

In 2023, the operators of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, pleaded guilty to an indictment in federal court. They admitted that from 2010 to 2018 they lied to a whole lot of families by promising to cremate their family members, but as an alternative sold their bodies to so-called Body broker. Body dealers operate in a legal grey area and make donated human stays available to universities and firms involved in medical and scientific research.

Megan Hess, 46, was sentenced to twenty years in prison, and Shirley Koch, 69, was convicted to fifteen years in prison.

In early 2024, the owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, were charged for misusing the stays of nearly 200 people. They were charged in state court with corpse desecration, money laundering, theft and forgery. Owners Jon and Carie Hallford claimed to supply cremation services. Instead, they allegedly stored the stays unrefrigerated on the funeral home and returned dry concrete powder to the families as an alternative of ashes. According to court documents, the bodies were “stored in rooms infested with vermin and the liquid decomposition of other corpses.”

What strikes me about each scandals is how long the misconduct lasted before it was discovered – eight years within the case of Sunset Mesa and 5 years within the Return to Nature case. Colorado law didn’t require inspections of funeral homes, and it is sort of possible that regular inspections would have uncovered each of those situations much sooner, potentially saving a whole lot of families from exploitation.

Is this a nationwide problem?

Burial law within the United States is regulated by the statesnot the federal government.

The funeral industry has been largely regulated by a system of skilled licensing for the reason that late nineteenth century. In 2023 all states except Colorado licensed funeral directors and embalmers. Occupational licensing laws typically require certain courses—often an associate's degree in funeral services—in addition to passing a state or national exam and spending a certain quantity of time as an intern. The overwhelming majority of states also licenses for funeral homes and crematoria.

In Colorado, undertakers and embalmers were regulated by knowledgeable license. until 1983This 12 months, the Colorado legislature replaced this structure with so-called “Title protection“” for undertakers, funeral directors, embalmers and cremators.

In order to make use of one among these protected titles in Colorado, an individual mainly had to fulfill certain requirements that were very much like the tutorial and skilled requirements in other states. Funeral homes and crematoriums should be registered in Colorado, which is analogous to licensing.

Although Colorado’s property protection and registration structure was much like the skilled licensing system in other states, had no power to examine funeral homes, even after complaints from consumers. According to court documents, the Fremont County Coroner by email to Colorado's Department of Regulatory Agencies to report his suspicions in regards to the Return to Nature funeral home in 2020, however the state never responded. Essentially, the one enforcement mechanism in Colorado law was criminal law, which might only handle essentially the most egregious situations. For example, in Colorado it is illegitimate intentionally mutilating or destroying human stays in an effort to affect their appearance or availability in an official proceeding reminiscent of a criminal trial. Colorado also has a Abuse of the corpse law which prohibits the handling of human stays in a fashion that will “offend the normal sensibilities of a family”.

How will the laws work?

Colorado recently passed two measures designed to enhance the regulation of funeral homes. first measuresigned by Governor Jared Polis on May 24, 2024, requires routine inspection of funeral homes and crematoriums. The state initially plans to rent two inspectors to examine the greater than 300 listed funeral homesbut no beneficial timetable for his or her work has yet been published.

The second measure was signed by Polis on May 28, 2024. It essentially transforms the title protection requirements which have been in place since 1983 right into a more standardized skilled licensing system. Current Colorado practitioners who lack the required experience or training may have three years to acquire licensure.

Will this prevent future scandals?

The initiators of the bill obviously hope that it should protect consumers and stop scandals just like the one Colorado recently experienced.

In my view, a very powerful a part of the brand new laws is the requirement that funeral homes and crematoriums be inspected usually. Inspectors would likely have discovered the bodies stored at Return to Nature Funeral Home much sooner. However, it is just not clear whether the inspection would have discovered the activities at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home.

I'm unsure the brand new licensing regulations are a panacea. Jon Hallford got here from a family with a multi-generational history of funeral directors and had a level in funeral services. Unfortunately, education and experience don’t all the time mean that an individual will behave ethically and legally.

Finding a good funeral home generally is a challenge for consumers because people rarely use their services. This challenge is even tougher when you find yourself making decisions in the mean time of loss, when you find yourself grieving and under stress. The best strategy is to research options and funeral homes prematurely and plan as much as possible. Cultural unwillingness to discuss death and end-of-life care makes it difficult to discover and avoid perpetrators.