Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey responded Friday to the shocking series of racist texts from former state police investigator Michael Proctor that were revealed in a new lawsuit filed by Karen Read.
“The egregious and offensive information discovered on former Trooper Proctor’s personal cell phone is inexcusable. Former Trooper Proctor’s outrageous comments do not reflect the values or beliefs of the hard-working men and women in the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office,” Morrisey said in a statement.
The profanity-laced text messages between fired Massachusetts Trooper Michael Proctor and ex-Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode in the filing, which are highlighted by the rampant use of derogatory racial remarks aimed at African Americans and Asians, as well as offensively explicit references to women.
In one instance, Proctor allegedly wrote, “America sucks. Hitler was really onto something, then [expletive] US had to step in and ruin it.”
In another text, after telling Goode about a crash in Canton, Proctor allegedly wrote, “Actually, take your time, I saw a [racial slur] was involved, so I wouldn’t rush if you’re working.”
“In the fall of 2025, the NDAO began providing the discoverable material on former Trooper Proctor’s personal cell phone to defense counsel in cases in which Proctor was an investigator and to potentially affected entities,” Morrissey continued.
Read’s suit claims Proctor and Goode were “unfit for positions of public trust” and had conduct that compromised the integrity of the case.
“Michael Proctor and Sean Goode did not slip through the cracks; they are emblematic of the failure to responsibly exercise the trust and faith the public puts in these institutions,” a statement from Read’s legal team said. “Proctor and Goode were unfit for positions of public trust, and yet they were handed badges, promotions, and ultimately control of homicide investigations despite harboring deep-seated and abhorrent anti-woman, racist, antisemitic, and homophobic ideologies for more than a decade.”
The DA’s office says they are continuing to review cases Proctor worked on to ensure they were done without bias.
Read’s attorneys claim the case shows what they call a culture of corruption that goes back years in both departments.
Proctor’s attorney has pushed back, arguing the texts were sent years before O’Keefe’s death and have “no bearing whatsoever” on the investigation into Read.
The lawsuit sets up a legal battle over whether those past messages can be considered relevant evidence. A judge will ultimately decide whether they factor into the case.
Legal experts say the outcome could hinge on that decision, as well as the difference between public perception and the legal standard in court. Unlike a criminal case, this civil lawsuit carries a lower burden of proof.
Proctor, who served as the lead investigator in the Read murder case, was fired from his role within the state police in March 2025. He was relieved of his duty without pay after a mistrial was declared in Read’s first trial, 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 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 also talked about her medical issues and wrote, “No nudes so far,” while going through her phone.
Goode, who responded to the scene of O’Keefe’s death, submitted his resignation from the Canton Police Department this week. He also testified during Read’s first trial. He was suspended from the department in October 2025and placed on leave shortly after investigators uncovered additional “troubling” text messages on the phone of fired Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor.
Read, 46, was previously charged with second-degree murder after prosecutors alleged she backed over O’Keefe with her SUV and left him for dead during a snowstorm in Canton in January 2022. She was ultimately acquitted in June 2025 after a mistrial was declared in her first trial the year prior.
In a statement, Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble called the lawsuit “disturbing,” noting the “racist, sexist, and abhorrent comments absolutely do not reflect the values of the Massachusetts State Police.” The Town of Canton declined to comment on the lawsuit, expressing the “utmost” faith in the new leader of the police department.
Read currently faces a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by John O’Keefe’s family. She has also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against multiple people who testified against her in her two murder trials.
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