Karen Read case: Massachusetts Trooper Michael Proctor 'terminated' from state police
Karen Read's defense seized on Michael Proctor's text messages about her
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The embattled lead investigator into suspected Boston cop killer Karen Read has been fired by Massachusetts State police.
Michael Proctor, a 12-year veteran of the force who led the probe into the death of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, has been terminated in a move that his wife and sister say "unfairly exploits and scapegoats" him and the work of his detectives.
Read, 45, is a former finance professional accused of ramming O'Keefe, her boyfriend, in a hit-and-run, then leaving him to die in the street during a January 2022 snowstorm.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Read's murder trial ended with a hung jury on July 1, 2024. During Proctor's key testimony, a series of rude and lewd text messages he sent about the case were read in court, tanking his credibility in the eyes of at least some jurors.
Dedham, MA - June 27: Karen Read stands in the doorway as she waits to leave Norfolk Superior Court. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
In them, he called Read a "wack job," a "babe… with no a--" and a "c---." He also wrote that he wished she would kill herself and joked about looking for nude selfies while searching her phone. Jurors could be seen shaking their heads.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Proctor was suspended without pay after the trial pending a disciplinary probe, which led to his termination this week.
The internal review found he had improperly shared "sensitive or confidential information" about the homicide investigation along with the "derogatory texts."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dedham, MA - June 10: Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor takes the stand during Karen Read's murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court. (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"Our mission to deliver the highest level of police services depends on the public's trust in our professionalism and integrity," Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said in a statement. "It is incumbent upon me, as well as every member of this Department, to hold one another accountable when any member compromises our mission by failing to uphold our values."
Proctor himself has declined to discuss the fiasco, but his family has been increasingly speaking out as Read continues to give public interviews about her case.
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Prosecutors said Karen Read and John O’Keefe had been drinking heavily before she dropped him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow officer. They alleged she hit him with her SUV before driving away. Read denied this claim. (Courtesy of Karen Read)
Prior to the Read case, he had an "unblemished record," in the words of his sister, Courtney Proctor.
"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 [allegedly] killed a fellow beloved Boston Police Officer – are all that they found," the family said in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KAREN READ MISTRIAL PUTS COPS IN TOUGH SPOT, OPENS DOOR FOR ACCUSED KILLER OF BOYFRIEND TO WALK FREE
"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."
Officer John O’Keefe poses for his official headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read, has been accused of murdering him after he was found dead outside of a Massachusetts home in January 2022. (Boston Police Department)
Read and O'Keefe were dating when she was accused of hitting him with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die during a bitter cold nor'easter. They had been out drinking for much of the night and got into an argument, according to prosecutors.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Although prosecutors have named no other suspects and plan to take Read back to trial on April 1, Read and her defense have insinuated that O'Keefe was killed by fellow cops who set up a sprawling conspiracy to frame her for the crime.
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O'Keefe's family has also named Read in a wrongful death lawsuit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Read's attorney did not return a call seeking comment.
Karen Read talks with her legal team at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday, July 1, 2024. It was the fifth day of deliberations in the murder trial for Read. Read was accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
"Proctor and his detectives led a meticulous and thorough investigation of integrity, and despite today’s wrongful termination, and great harm and defamation this case has inflicted on him and his family, Proctor still believes justice will be served," Proctor's family said.
"He is grateful for the unrelenting support of the union and the men and women of the Massachusetts State Police. His heart is always with the family of Officer John O’Keefe who continue to endure a prolonged and unimaginable nightmare."
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Read's new trial is expected to be led by a special assistant prosecutor, Hank Brennan, who once represented the mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.
Fox News' Andrew Fone contributed to this report.