BOSTON (WHDH) - A judge ruled Monday afternoon that former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor must appear in court for a deposition Tuesday in the wrongful death case filed against Karen Read.
The deposition was initially scheduled for Monday.
The ruling comes after Proctor filed an emergency protective order Saturday saying he was unavailable to be questioned on Monday in the lawsuit filed by the family of Boston police officer John O’Keefe. In the filing, Proctor said the previously agreed-upon date no longer worked for him.
Proctor’s motion to move the date of the deposition was filed one day after Read filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and Canton police, alleging a system-wide failure of law enforcement that resulted in her being charged with the murder of O’Keefe. Read’s team released text and audio messages that show Proctor using vile, racist, and hateful language when discussing Read and other cases.
Both the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton town leaders said the messages do not reflect the values of their departments.
Attorneys for both Proctor and Read met with the judge on Zoom Monday morning. Read’s attorneys pushed for the deposition to continue on Monday as planned, arguing that the subpoena went out in April.
“This is highly prejudicial to my client. The reasoning is not sufficient,” said Damon Seligson, Read’s attorney. “At no point from April until June 4 did we learn there was any issue.”
Proctor’s Defense Attorney also spoke during the meeting.
“My client’s situation is ongoing; we are in constant communication with him, and we will provide dates as soon as possible,” Matthew Hamel, Proctor’s attorney, said.
Seligson said their legal team has incurred costs and expenses and had strategically prepared for Monday’s hearing.
During the meeting, Judge Mark Gildea also agreed that there was insufficient information to support a delay in the deposition going forward.
“For this case to proceed efficiently, and for our system of justice to work, certain basic things have to happen,” Gildea said during the hearing. “A subpoena needs to mean something. A lawyer’s agreement needs to have meaning. Lawyers need to communicate with their clients.”
Before he was fired from the force, Proctor was the lead investigator in the criminal case against Karen Read, who was acquitted of murder last summer after being accused of hitting and killing O’Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022.
Despite Gildea ordering Proctor’s deposition tomorrow, Read’s team said they are not available, so a different date is now being worked out.
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