Massachusetts State Police may face ‘additional scrutiny’ after Karen Read trial

The murder trial of Karen Read could lead to “additional scrutiny” of the Massachusetts State Police, the agency’s head said on Tuesday.

Gov. Maura Healey said the state police’s decision to remove Trooper Michael Proctor from the force was the right one after damaging comments surfaced in the Karen Read murder trial, but the agency’s chief said his conduct could lead to “heightened scrutiny” in other cases.

Proctor was the lead state police investigator in the Read case and was assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office when he admitted to making “inappropriate” and “regrettable” comments in his text messages. State police relieved him of duty Monday and planned to transfer him out of the office.

At an event Tuesday morning, Massachusetts State Police Colonel John Mawn said the agency would be under pressure after the trial and would have to be in a “continuous cycle of earning and maintaining public trust and legitimacy.”

“As a result of the events in the recent proceedings, all of these investigations will be subject to greater scrutiny and we are prepared for that,” Mawn told reporters.

Separately, a law enforcement oversight group reiterated its call for a thorough review of the controversial agency.

Also on Tuesday, the State Police Association of Massachusetts said that while it supports its members, it does not “condone” Proctor’s comments presented as evidence in Read’s trial.

“We must make clear that we do not condone the language in the text messages presented as evidence at trial,” union president Brian Williams said in a statement.

Read was accused of driving an SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking in January 2022. Defense attorneys denied the allegations, arguing instead that O’Keefe was killed by a third party.

The jury reached a deadlock during deliberations on Monday, and a local judge declared the trial void, prompting prosecutors to announce they would retry Read.

Mawn said the agency took “immediate action” after declaring a mistrial to remove Proctor from his duties and transfer him out of the prosecutor’s office.

At an unrelated event in Lowell on Tuesday, Healey said Mawn “made the right decision” to fire Proctor but did not say whether he should be fired. She had previously condemned comments made by Proctor that came to light during the jury trial.

“I fully support MSP’s decision on this matter,” Healey told reporters. “As you know, this is the subject of an internal investigation, so that process needs to continue, but we will certainly keep an eye on it.”

The decision to remove Proctor from office and the mistrial in Read come at a time when a law enforcement watchdog group is calling for a thorough investigation of the Massachusetts State Police to restore public confidence in the agency.

“The performance of some of the officers assigned to this investigation, as well as other recent cases of misconduct throughout the department, have raised doubts and skepticism among many citizens across the state about this agency’s ability to perform its vital duties,” the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement said in a statement.

Mawn said state police cannot do their jobs effectively without the public’s trust.

“We are fully focused on achieving this and behaving in a way that shows we are capable of doing this and that we are worthy of trust,” he said. “As we move forward in this organization, we will be conscious of that and make sure we all do our best to show the public that we can be what they expect us to be.”

During his time on the witness stand, Proctor admitted that he had sent text messages to friends and colleagues in which he called Read a “beauty” and a “nutcase,” used vulgar language in reference to her, and made crude remarks about a medical condition. In one of these conversations, he even said he hoped Read would commit suicide.

“I am not proud of these regrettable and unprofessional comments, nor are they something I should have written privately or in any other setting,” Proctor said during the trial.

The incident occurred just as a six-member search committee appointed by Healey is looking for the next chief of the Massachusetts State Police, who could come from outside the agency for the first time.

Healey said Tuesday she was looking for someone who would bring “professionalism, integrity and competence” to the position.

Although he is relieved of duty, Proctor continues to work for the state police.

According to state comptroller records, he earned $184,397 last year.

Proctor will be transferred from the district attorney’s criminal division starting Sunday. He will have to undergo a status hearing and will remain employed by the department until the hearing is completed, agency spokesman Tim McGuirk said.

“Although Trooper Proctor is still employed by the department, the decision to relieve him of duty means he will no longer be able to work on cases or serve as a trooper during this time,” McGuirk said.

An internal investigation into misconduct that came to light during testimony in the Read trial is ongoing.

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