The Massachusetts state trooper who sent defamatory text messages about a woman accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend has been fired after a trial board found him guilty of unsatisfactory performance and violating the department’s policy on alcoholic beverages.
Michael Proctor has the right to appeal his firing to the Civil Service Commission, according to WBZ.
Proctor was relieved of duty last summer just hours after Karen Read’s first trial for the death of John O’Keefe ended in a hung jury. He was suspended without pay weeks later.
Read is going back on trial for the second time next month. Earlier this month, prosecutors said that a federal investigation into police actions had ended with no charges, as CrimeOnline reported.
The action against Proctor stemmed from revelations in trial that he sent text messages to colleagues, friends, and family members disparaging Read with messages like “hopefully she kills herself” and calling her a “whackjob [expletive].” When confronted with the messages during the trial, he admitted that they were “regrettable.”
Proctor was the lead investigator into O’Keefe’s death. Read was charged with striking and killing him with her SUV after a night of drinking in 2022, then leaving him to die in the snow outside a friend’s house. Read pleaded not guilty, saying she was framed by other people — some of them law enforcement “friends” of O’Keefe.
The alcohol charge came on a night when he and Canton Police Office Kevin Albert — whose brother owns the home where O’Keefe was found dead — were out drinking together while working the case. Albert later sent text messages noting that he had left his gun and badge in Proctor’s police cruiser.
Read’s attorneys say that Albert’s brother, Brian Albert, is one of the men they suspect of having a role in O’Keefe’s death.
The trial board heard Proctor’s case over three sessions beginning in January before issuing its ruling and recommendation that he be fired. State Patrol Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble announced his acceptance of the ruling on Wednesday.
“As Superintendent, my role demands that I do what is in the best interest of the Department,” he said.. “My decision to terminate Mr. Proctor follows a thorough, fair, and impartial process. I have weighed the nature of the offenses, their impact on our investigative integrity, and the importance of safeguarding the reputations of our dedicated women and men in the State Police. This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to upholding our values, enhancing public trust and ensuring the highest standards of service and accountability.”
Proctor’s family issued a statement last week blaming his troubles on Read and her attorneys saying she, “her family, her defense team, and a mob of her followers” had “defamed maligned, and falsely labeled” him as corrupt.
