State Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, has been suspended without pay by the state police following a disciplinary hearing. The three-person panel recommended his suspension, which was immediately accepted by Interim State Police Colonel John Mawn. An internal affairs investigation into Proctor’s conduct is ongoing.
During the Read case, Proctor’s crude and demeaning texts about Read were revealed, where he called her a “whack job,” made jokes about her medical condition, and expressed wishes for her to kill herself. Read’s defense attorneys also questioned the quality of his investigation.
The hearing was conducted virtually and not open to the public, as is common for duty status hearings. Troopers can either be retained on full duty, placed on restricted duty, suspended with pay, or suspended without pay based on the outcome of the hearing.
Read is charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, but her defense attorneys claim she was framed and pointed out flaws in the police work in the case. A mistrial was declared last week after jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. Shortly after, Proctor was removed from his post as a detective in the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office and reassigned to a desk job.
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