Nearly 20 Massachusetts State Police Academy trainees injured after forced to bear crawl on pavement

NEW BRAINTREE, Mass. (WLNE) — Nearly 20 Massachusetts State Police Academy trainees were injured after being forced to bear crawl on pavement.

State Police Spokesman Dave Procopio said the department became aware of the unauthorized training last week.

Two troopers were removed as Academy drill instructors and were returned to their regular assignments in the department, according to state police.

Procopio said the trainees suffered from blisters on their hands as a result of crawling on the hot pavement.

In a statement, state police said the exercise was “not authorized as part of the training curriculum, added no value to the training, and contradicted the expectations that MSP Command Staff explicitly conveyed to Academy staff prior to the start of the current Recruit Training Troop.”

Col. Mason immediately launched an investigation into the training and further increased oversight of training operations.

The Academy Commandant and Executive Officer responsible for oversight of the Academy was also removed.

An investigation is ongoing at this time.