The Massachusetts State Police investigator who was suspended over allegations of misconduct in the Karen Read murder investigation has now been fired, state law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
The state police trial board made the decision to fire and dishonorably discharge Michael Proctor, who led the investigation into the 2022 death of Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend, after three days of hearings that began in January.
The trial board found Proctor guilty of three charges of unsatisfactory performance and one charge of consumption of alcohol while on duty between Jan. 2022 and Aug. 2022.
The unsatisfactory performance charges stem from Proctor sending, “derogatory, defamatory, disparaging, and/or otherwise inappropriate text messages about a suspect in that investigation to other individuals,” in relation to the Karen Read murder investigation. Proctor also consumed alcohol while on duty and proceeded to operate his department-issued cruiser in July 2022.
Proctor’s family released a statement to NBC News on Wednesday following the decision.
“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,” the family said. “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,” the statement added.
The Massachusetts State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Proctor was relieved from his post within the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office immediately after Read’s nine-week trial ended with a hung jury last summer. He was suspended without pay days later.
A new trial is scheduled to begin April 1.
Read was charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. Her retrial is scheduled to begin April 1.
During the trial, Read’s lawyers accused Proctor of manipulating evidence and conducting a biased investigation. They based that allegation in part on text messages Proctor sent to friends, relatives and supervisors that showed him using offensive and vulgar language to describe Read.
In one instance, Proctor sent a text to his sister saying he hoped Read died by suicide.
In testimony, Proctor acknowledged that his comments were unprofessional and “dehumanized” Read, but he said they did not compromise the integrity of the investigation.
Proctor also acknowledged discussing parts of the investigation with his sister, but he said he was only making her aware of “newsworthy stuff.”
The official who led state police at the time said the agency had opened an internal investigation into Proctor’s conduct after allegations of “serious misconduct” emerged at trial.
During the proceedings, prosecutors described Read’s two year relationship with O’Keefe as increasingly troubled, and they accused her of striking her boyfriend with her Lexus SUV outside a party with other law enforcement officers after a night of drinking.
Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally accused Read of leaving O’Keefe to die outside the home of one of those officers — Brian Albert, then a Boston police sergeant.
O’Keefe was found unresponsive outside Albert’s suburban home on the morning of Jan. 22. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
Read’s lawyers described the killing as a far-reaching conspiracy among some of the officers who were at the party, including an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who’d flirted with Read.
