Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor "relieved of duty" after Karen Read mistrial
CANTON - Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, was "relieved of duty" Monday, hours after a mistrial was declared in Norfolk Superior Court.
Who is Michael Proctor?
Proctor has been with the state police for about 10 years. He can no longer perform the duties of a state trooper.
On the witness stand during the trial, Proctor admitted sending inappropriate and offensive text messages about Read during the investigation. He was forced to read those texts to the jury in court.
Read's attorneys accused Proctor of covering for witnesses who are also his friends and planting evidence. He says he is not guilty of any wrongdoing. The defense has also questioned the relationship Proctor and his wife had with Canton Selectman Christopher Albert and his wife. Christopher Albert is the brother of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert, who owned the home where John O'Keefe's body was found in January 2022. Investigators say Read ran over O'Keefe with her SUV after dropping him off at the home in a snowstorm and left him to die.
Proctor has denied all allegations of bias and wrongdoing. According to WBZ-TV I-Team sources, he has been transferred out of the District Attorney's Office detective unit and into a field services division in South Boston as a formality.
State police said the decision is separate from an ongoing internal investigation into the entire Read case. Proctor has been placed on leave, which means while he is technically on the force and being paid, he is not allowed to function as a state trooper. He is still technically a trooper until his disciplinary hearing.
That hearing can end in one of four ways:
- He gets his job back.
- He could be suspended with pay.
- He could be suspended without pay.
- He could receive restricted duties.
The state police union, State Police Association of Massachusetts, issued a statement on Tuesday.
"It is our understanding that this discipline came as a result of the trooper's private text message exchanges that were made public during the trial. We also understand that it has no relationship to salacious allegations of cover-ups, collusion or conspiracies offered by the defense," they said in a statement.
"At the same time, we must be clear that we do not condone the language used in text messages presented as evidence during the trial."
Proctor cannot be fired as a result of the hearing. It's the first step in the process that could lead to his eventual termination from the force.
A date for the hearing has not been scheduled yet.
Michael Proctor's texts
Proctor testified for the prosecution during the trial.
"These juvenile, unprofessional comments have zero impact on the facts and the evidence and the integrity of this investigation," Proctor told the court.
One message sent to his wife said, "waiting to lock whackjob up," referring to Read. Another to his bosses while he went through Read's phone said, "No nudes so far." He also texted his sister, "hopefully she kills herself," in another reference to Read.
Governor Maura Healey said she was "disgusted" by the text messages and said Proctor's actions could damage police work across Massachusetts.
Karen Read's attorney
Read's attorney, Alan Jackson, released this statement late Monday night after Proctor was relieved of duty:
"Conduct has consequences. DA Morrissey backed this misogynist, corrupt cop. And two hours after he announced he will pursue a second trial against an innocent woman, Karen Read, the MSP announced that Michael Proctor-the lead investigator for the Commonwealth-has been relieved of duty because of "serious misconduct that emerged in testimony at the trial." We look forward to another opportunity to reveal the truth about this unjust prosecution. Good luck."
Troopers need to "look in the mirror"
The interim head of the Massachusetts State Police, Col. John Mawn, told reporters Tuesday that his department needs to "look in the mirror" in the wake of Proctor's role in the Read investigation.
"We need to work very hard to engage the public in a more meaningful way so we can understand what it is that we need to do and where we want to go in order to maintain trust, build trust, and in some cases regain it," Mawn said.