FALMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) – A six month investigation into the East Falmouth Police Academy, Cape Cod’s newest police academy, uncovered a culture of hazing and humiliation in violation of state guidelines, and recommends top leaders be fired, according to a new report released by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Municipal Police Training Committee.
There has been a heightened awareness about police training and academy safety in Massachusetts following the death of Massachusetts State Police recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia at the State Police Academy in New Braintree in September 2024.
Local police departments subsequently raised concerns about injuries their recruits suffered at the East Falmouth Academy, causing investigators to quickly step in.
The East Falmouth Academy came under scrutiny within weeks of opening its doors in January. By March, the academy’s director, coordinator, and staff instructors were all placed on leave.
The report outlines how instructors would physically and emotionally degrade police recruits, including using physical training as a punishment. It said two recruits even had to go to the hospital.
On multiple occassions, recruits said they were forced to run up a hill in sub-freezing temperatures, wearing only their khaki uniforms. They said they were ordered to crawl on the icy ground as staff instructors stepped on their backs and pushed their faces into the mud.
The report stated, “…they were instructed to grab their water bottles, run back up the hill, lay on their backs, and pour water over themselves while doing flutter kicks.”
Investigators also found that recruits were deprived of bathroom breaks, and when they were given breaks, “one break was so short that two of the eleven female student officers in the class had to urinate in the shower stalls,” the report said.
The report showed the Academy’s Director, Christopher Donelan, did not just ignore misconduct, he committed some of the wrongdoings himself.
When a female student officer did not get low enough in a squat, the report said Donelan stood directly behind her and made her demonstrate for the entire class. “She said he was standing so close to her that other student officers asked her if she was okay afterward,” the report stated.
The report goes on to say, “It was Donelan’s job as Academy Director to foster a safe learning environment characterized by respect, courtesy, and positive reinforcement. From the moment he arrived at the academy, he did just the opposite.”
The report recommends both Donelan and the Academy’s coordinator, retired Falmouth police department Chief Edward Dunne, be fired. It also recommends that five of the academy’s staff instructors, who are all active duty police officers, have their teaching credentials permanently revoked.
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