NBC Boston had a team at the home of Michael Proctor after the judge declared a mistrial on Monday. Proctor addressed the reporter when she approached him by saying: "Get the f*** off my lawn."
The lead investigator at the center of the Karen Read trial was removed from his post following the murder suspect's case ended in a mistrial.
"Upon learning today’s result, the Department immediately relieved Trooper Michael Proctor of duty and formally transferred him out of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective’s Unit. This follows our previous decision to open an internal affairs investigation after information about serious misconduct emerged in testimony at the trial," said a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police (MSP).
NBC Boston had a team at the Proctor house on Monday and Proctor addressed the reporter when she approached him for an interview by saying: "Get the f*** off my lawn."
Proctor's wife then chimed in as she followed her husband into the house, saying she supported him and then declaring, "Karen Read is a murderer."
NBC Boston called the MSP at the time however and were told Proctor was still an employee on the force.Hours later, he was "relieved of duty."
Proctor will now be on paid leave after losing his spot as part of the investigative team for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. That is the office that tried the Read case, where he spent two long days on the stand during which time it was revealed that he sent vulgar, misogynistic and sexually inappropriate texts to family and fellow officers about Read while investigating the case.
During his first day on the stand, Proctor was questioned about texts in which he referred to Read as a "whacko," a "whack job," and one where he referred to the defendant as a c-word. He tried to avoid saying that slur, but after the defense objected, the judge ordered him to say the word.
Proctor also shared texts he exchanged with a fellow trooper after seizing and searching Read's phone, one of which read: "no nudes so far." He also referred to her as "a babe" with "no ass" and disparaged her "Fall River" accent in a text to friends on the day of O'Keefe's murder.
In another text, someone asked about the fallout the homeowner Brian Albert might have received since O'Keefe's body was discovered on his property.
"Bet the owner of the home will receive some s***," wrote Proctor's friend.
"Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too," replied Proctor.
Albert has not been charged with a crime and said O'Keefe was never inside his house on the day he died.
Then, after Read's arrest, Proctor's sister texted to inform him that Albert wanted to buy him a present. Proctor said he never received a gift from the man.
Proctor repeatedly apologized to the jury during his testimony, saying at one point: ”Comments I shouldn’t have made, that I’m not proud of,” Proctor said. “These juvenile, unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts, the evidence, and the integrity of the investigation."
On cross-examination, Proctor was asked about a text message in which he told his sister that he hoped Read "kills herself."
Forced to answer for his remark, Proctor said: "My emotions got the best of me with that figure of speech."
The defense had argued at trial that Proctor planted evidence at the crime scene to frame their client, an allegation that Proctor denied multiple times on Monday.
Proctor has not been charged with any crime, and the MSP will not say if the internal investigation into the trooper is related to the Read case.
"Trooper Proctor has been fully cooperative in responding to the investigations conducted by the US Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police Internal Affairs Unit," Proctor's lawyer Michael R. DiStefano previously told Inside Edition Digital. "To be clear, Trooper Proctor remains steadfast in the integrity of the work he performed investigating the death of Mr. John O’Keefe."
This new development now makes it unclear if he will be called back to testify when the Read case is tried for a second time.
His anger at the news of the mistrial stood in stark contrast to the relief felt by Read, who hugged her family after the jury could not come to a consensus on the charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. Read has entered a plea of not guilty to all three counts.
Meanwhile, the first status hearing for her second trial is scheduled for later this month.
