Michael Proctor’s union calls suspension without pay “disappointing”

The union representing the controversial lead state police investigator in the Karen Read case said Tuesday that the agency’s decision to suspend him without pay was “disappointing,” adding that his crude text messages about Read had “no bearing on the salacious allegations” that there was a law enforcement conspiracy in the case.

“The State Police Association of Massachusetts will never tolerate the unacceptable language in the personal text messages presented as evidence during the trial,” union president Brian Williams said in a statement, a day after state police suspended Trooper Michael Proctor following a hearing on his duty status.

Williams was referring to text messages that Proctor admitted to when he took the stand at Read’s trial. The trial ended in a miscarriage of justice on July 1 after jurors said they were still in a hopeless stalemate after five days of deliberations. Prosecutors have said they plan to retry Read, and a status conference is scheduled for July 22.

Proctor testified that “my emotions got the better of me” as he called Read a “nutcase,” a “lunatic,” and a “moron” in messages to colleagues, friends, and relatives. He made fun of her illnesses and Fall River accent, and said he wished she would kill herself.

“To date, we have received no information to indicate that his suspension was the result of anything other than this text message exchange,” Williams said. “We want to reiterate that, unless the Department’s ongoing investigation proves otherwise, yesterday’s actions are unrelated to the salacious allegations of cover-ups, collusion or conspiracy advanced by the defense.”

Proctor also admitted on the witness stand that he sent text messages to other police officers informing them that they had searched Read’s phone for nude photos of her and that he had revealed details of the case to relatives and friends.

Proctor said the texts were unfortunate and unprofessional and he never expected them to become public.

“These childish, unprofessional comments had no impact on the facts, the evidence or the integrity of the investigation,” Proctor told jurors.

An internal investigation into Proctor’s conduct is ongoing, officials said. Read’s lawyers accused Proctor of having a conflict of interest in the case.

Prosecutors allege Read, 44, of Mansfield, drove her SUV while drunk into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, after dropping him off outside a Canton home in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned to the scene hours later to find his snow-covered body on the front lawn. In the presence of emergency responders, she repeatedly shouted “I hit him,” witnesses testified during an eight-week trial that gripped the region.

Read’s lawyers say she was framed for the crime, claiming that O’Keefe entered the Cantons’ home, which at the time belonged to another Boston police officer, beat him in the basement and then dumped his body on the front lawn.

“Every member of the Massachusetts State Police hopes that the O’Keefe family finds peace, comfort and closure as they continue to mourn the loss of their loved one,” Williams said Tuesday. “Unless the focus is shifted away from trivial matters and back to the investigation and prosecution of John O’Keefe’s death, the justice his family deserves will be slow in coming.”

Williams also said that suspending Proctor without salary adjustment was a “punishment for his young family.”

“His children will lose access to benefits such as health insurance. To mitigate the impact on them, a suspension that does not affect their health insurance coverage would have been a more reasonable measure.”

State police declined to comment on the union’s comments.

This report uses material from previous Globe stories.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].