Massachusetts State Police suspended Trooper Michael Proctor without pay following a duty status hearing in the Karen Read murder case.
Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, admitted to making “unprofessional” comments about Read during the probe into Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death. Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene, which she denied.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Read’s murder trial ended in a mistrial July 1 when the jury told Judge Beverly Cannone that they were deadlocked. This was the third note from the jury indicating they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict after five days of deliberations.
During the trial, Proctor testified that he called Read a “whack job” and texted his sister hoping Read would “kill herself.” Although he admitted to the comments, he maintained that he did not compromise the investigation’s integrity.
Gov. Maura Healey condemned Proctor’s remarks as “terrible,” saying they
