State Police Association comments on ‘disappointing’ decision to suspend Trooper Proctor without pay

After a Massachusetts state police board recommended Monday that disgraced police officer Michael Proctor be suspended without pay, the union’s president expressed concern about the decision.

“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,” said Brian Williams, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts. “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.”

Proctor was the lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case and came under fire for a series of “unprofessional” text messages sent in a private group message about Read to friends, family and superiors. Those texts were read aloud in court during the trial.

At a status of duty hearing on Monday that drew attention from Read supporters, Massachusetts State Police interim Colonel John Mawn decided to suspend Proctor, effective immediately.

Williams says that while he does not approve of Proctor’s handling of the text messages, he is adamant that there was no cover-up in the murder case.

“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,” he 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.”

Read is accused of killing her boyfriend John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm in Canton in January 2022.

Prosecutors said Read and O’Keefe had been drinking heavily before she dropped him off at a party at her co-worker Brian Albert’s house. They said she hit him with her SUV before driving away.

The defense attempted to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed in Albert’s house and then dragged outside and left to die.

“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. “As these matters continue to unfold, we thank our members who serve dutifully and with distinction. We are proud of the meaningful work they do every day. We also take the duty to represent them fairly and equally very seriously. Because of our obligations to members and because of the department’s ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment on yesterday’s hearing.”

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates as more information becomes available.

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