State police union says Michael Proctor’s suspension without pay is ‘disappointing’ – NBC Boston

The union representing Massachusetts State Police officers defended Officer Michael Proctor a day after he was suspended without pay.

Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, faced heavy criticism after testifying in her murder trial. The high-profile proceedings brought to light a series of text messages he sent about Read while investigating the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in Canton.

An internal investigation was launched against the police officer before Read’s trial began. She was accused of hitting O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow.

At a status hearing on Monday, state police decided that Proctor would be placed on leave without pay pending the investigation.

“The decision to suspend him without pay pending the outcome of the investigation is disappointing because it shifts the punishment for Trooper Proctor onto his young family,” Brian Williams, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “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 would have been a more reasonable action.”

Williams said while the internal investigation is ongoing, the police union has not received any new information that Proctor was disciplined for anything other than those text messages.

Proctor admitted during his testimony at the nine-week trial that he sent text messages that were “unprofessional and regrettable,” but claimed they had no impact on the integrity of his investigation.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor refused to answer questions from NBC10’s Boston Investigators after Karen Read’s murder trial ended without a jury verdict.

The text messages, sent to fellow state police officers, including supervisors, as well as friends and family, contained derogatory remarks about Read, calling her a “crazy bitch.” They made derogatory comments about her health.

When a friend suggested that the owner of the house where O’Keefe was found “might get some shit,” Proctor replied, “Nah, the homeowner is also a Boston cop.”

The homeowner is Brian Albert, a fellow from Boston. State police took over the investigation because Albert’s brother Kevin works for the Canton Police Department.

Proctor’s sister Courtney — with whom he says he is close friends — is the best friend of Julie Albert, who is married to Brian’s other brother Chris. The couple were at a bar with Brian Albert, Read, O’Keefe and others for hours before O’Keefe’s body was found in the snow.

In a text message to Courtney Proctor, the police officer said of Read: “Hopefully she kills herself.”

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Read’s defense claimed she was caught up in a cover-up and questioned the actions of Proctor, members of the Albert family and others. A mistrial was declared last week because the jury could not agree.

“Regarding the outcome of yesterday’s hearing on Trooper Proctor’s duty status, the State Police Association of Massachusetts will never condone the unacceptable language in the personal text messages that were introduced as evidence during the trial,” Williams said. “To date, we have received no information to indicate that his suspension was the result of anything other than that text message exchange. 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.”

“We certainly support the actions that Colonel (John) Mawn has taken. The internal investigation is ongoing, but I think that to date the appropriate actions have been taken,” Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said Tuesday.