Trooper Michael Proctor's conduct in Karen Read trial leads Massachusetts State Police to "look in the mirror"
BOSTON – Massachusetts State Police Col. John Mawn said his department needs to "look in the mirror" and work to rebuild public trust in the aftermath of the Karen Read murder trial, which led to Trooper Michael Proctor being relieved of duty for his handling of the case.
Proctor was the lead investigator in the case, which ended Monday with a mistrial.
What did Trooper Michael Proctor do?
During his testimony in the trial, Proctor was forced to read derogatory text messages he sent to friends and family about Read. The messages came to light as a part of a federal investigation into the handling of Read's case.
In one message, Proctor said about Read, "hopefully she kills herself." In other messages, Proctor commented on Read's physical appearance, and called her a "whackjob [expletive]."
Hours after a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury, Proctor was "relieved of duty" by Massachusetts State Police. Though he can no longer perform the duties of a state trooper, Proctor remains employed but is facing a disciplinary hearing.
Massachusetts State Police response
Massachusetts State Police Col. John Mawn spoke about the decision Tuesday, and addressed what Proctor's actions mean for the department.
"We have to take this head on. We have to be accountable to ourselves, to each other, to the residents and visitors to the Commonwealth. We have to look in the mirror. We have to be hyper focused on making sure that we are professional and that we are in a continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement and refinement," Mawn said. "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."
What will happen to Trooper Proctor?
There are multiple scenarios that could happen following Proctor's disciplinary hearing. He could get his job back, be suspended without pay, be suspended with pay, or receive restricted duties. The hearing cannot end with Proctor being fired, though it is the first step in the process that could lead to his eventual termination.
Mawn said Massachusetts State Police's disciplinary actions are dictated by the process set by its collective bargaining agreement.
"I think I've been very clear and I want to remain very clear. Misconduct in any way, shape or form by the Massachusetts State Police will not be tolerated," Mawn said. "I think I've said that I condemn [Proctor's] comments in the strongest terms possible. They are not reflective of the Massachusetts State Police. That's not where we want to be as an organization. I believe we will certainly continue to monitor that as we are moving through the process of our internal affairs investigation."
Gov. Maura Healey's response
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey previously said she was "disgusted" by Proctor's text messages.
Healey was asked again Tuesday about Proctor's standing with Massachusetts State Police.
"I fully support the decision made by MSP on this ... This is the right thing to do. There is a process. So we have to wait for that process to go forward," Healey said. "There's no tolerance for that behavior, frankly for anyone in law enforcement, with anyone in public service."