DEDHAM, Mass. — The family of suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor released a statement ripping Karen Read’s defense team on Thursday as the embattled investigator faced a third disciplinary hearing to determine his future with the law enforcement agency.
Trooper Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, confirmed that the family released the statement through a public relations company, but intentionally excluded Boston 25 News, due in part to Ted Daniel’s exclusive one-on-one interview with Read last month.
In the statement, which was shared with the Boston Herald, the family accused Read’s lawyers of maligning Trooper Proctor to deflect attention from their client.
“So, their tactic is to put my husband, the lead investigator, on trial for sending texts on his personal phone to his friends and family,” Elizabeth said in the statement to the newspaper. “The Karen Read defense team is unabashedly creating false narratives and distracting the public and potential jurors from clear-cut evidence.”
Trooper Proctor was assigned to investigate the death of Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe. He was relieved of his duty without pay this past summer after a mistrial was declared in Read’s murder case and his last day with the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office followed soon thereafter.
Proctor came under fire for a series of disparaging texts he sent about Read, which he read aloud in court during witness testimony at her first trial. Proctor admitted on the stand that the texts were “unprofessional.”
He called Read things like a “whack job” and other derogatory words, he talked about her medical issues and wrote, “No nudes so far,” while going through her phone.
“Unfortunately, we know that by speaking out, more harassment will be unleashed on our family,” Elizabeth said in the statement to the newspaper. “But we can no longer stand by and silently watch Michael’s character be attacked and disparaged so unfairly. After exhaustive investigations at both the state and federal level, and a grand jury, only one person has been charged with a crime, the defendant Karen Read.”
Read is accused of hitting O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home and then dragged outside and left for dead.
“At the end of the day, a beloved police officer and honorable man was killed,” Elizabeth said in the statement to the newspaper. “The prosecution believes it’s an open and shut case, and the defense knows this, too.
Boston 25 News has offered to sit down with the Proctor family both in the past and again Thursday. The family, as well as special prosecutor Hank Brennan, have declined interview requests.
A Massachusetts State Trial Board has been weighing whether or not Proctor is guilty of allegations of misconduct in the performances of his duties as a uniformed trooper.
Proctor on Thursday was set to appear before a Massachusetts State Police Trial Board in Framingham, a month after his second hearing ended without a conclusion. His first hearing was held in January.
If Proctor is found guilty, the panel will recommend a punishment to Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble.
Proctor also served as the lead investigator in the case against Brian Walshe, who is accused of killing and dismembering his wife Ana Walshe.
Read’s second trial is scheduled to get underway with jury selection on April 1.
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