FRAMINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - State Police Trooper Michael Proctor was suspended without pay Monday following his handling of the high-profile Karen Read murder investigation, officials announced.
Proctor, who served as the lead investigator in the Read case, became the subject of intense criticism after he revealed vulgar text messages about Read during testimony in her trial last month.
Proctor was relieved of duty immediately after Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the case and sat for a duty status hearing on Monday morning to decide his future with the Massachusetts State Police.
In an announcement near 2 p.m., a state police spokesperson said a board of commissioned officers recommended Proctor be suspended without pay while awaiting the result of an internal affairs investigation. Interim Superintendent Col. John Mawn accepted the board’s recommendation and suspended Proctor effective immediately.
During his investigation of the Read case, Proctor concluded Read murdered her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, by running him over with her car in January 2022.
Proctor was assigned to multiple other high-profile murder cases in Norfolk County.
In the Read case, the defense team claimed Proctor and other officers framed Read, alleging O’Keefe actually died after he was beaten to death at a party.
“You had an agenda from moment one,” defense attorney Alan Jackson told Proctor during cross examination.
Proctor’s text messages included one message where he called Read a “whack job.”
“Zero chance she skates. She’s [expletive],” he said in another message.
Forced to read his texts on the witness stand, Proctor said the messages were “unprofessional and regrettable.”
Read’s trial started in late April and continued until July 1. After five days of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Mawn relieved Proctor of duty within hours of the mistrial declaration, transferring Proctor out of his post at the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit.
Proctor then appeared for his virtual hearing behind closed doors beginning at 11 a.m. Monrday.
Jackson reacted to news that Proctor had been relieved of duty last week, saying “Conduct has consequences.”
He called Proctor a “misogynist, corrupt cop” and said the defense team looks forward “to another opportunity to reveal the truth about this unjust prosecution.”
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office has vowed to re-try Read.
But as Proctor sat for his duty status hearing Read’s team filed a new motion asking Cannone to dismiss two of three charges against Read.
Cannone had not ruled on the motion as of Monday afternoon.
Back at state police headquarters, it was unclear how long it will take for authorities to complete Proctor’s internal investigation. Once they finish the probe, though, officials will determine whether to reinstate Proctor or terminate him.
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