BOSTON, Mass. (Court TV) — After a lengthy three-day hearing, Michael Proctor was fired from the Massachusetts State Police.
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor testifies during Karen Read’s trial, Wednesday, June 12, 2024 in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Proctor was a central figure in Karen Read‘s 2024 murder trial after he served as the lead detective in the death investigation of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. Read is accused of killing O’Keefe after a night out drinking with friends in 2022.
Proctor was suspended from duty during Read’s trial after he admitted, under oath, that he had sent inappropriate text messages about the defendant to colleagues. The crude messages included inappropriate language and referred to Read as a “nutbag” and a “whackjob” with “no ass.” He appeared three times before a police trial in the last two months; those proceedings were closed to the public.
In a statement to Court TV on Wednesday, a public relations company confirmed Proctor’s termination and shared a message from his family.
“We are truly disappointed with the trial board’s decision as it lacks precedent, and unfairly exploits and scapegoats one of their own, a trooper with a 12-year unblemished record. Despite the Massachusetts State Police’s dubious and relentless efforts to find more inculpatory evidence against Michael Proctor on his phones, computers and cruiser data, the messages on his personal phone — referring to the person who killed a fellow beloved Boston Police Officer — are all that they found. The messages prove one thing, and that Michael is human — not corrupt, not incompetent in his role as a homicide detective, and certainly not unfit to continue to be a Massachusetts State Trooper.”
Proctor’s messages about Read have created issues in other cases where he served as lead investigator. Brian Walshe, who is charged with the murder of his missing wife, Ana Walshe, has been fighting for access to internal affairs records and other messages on Proctor’s phone.
