Detective who called Karen Read ‘whack job c—t,’ joked about searching for her nudes suspended without pay
The Massachusetts detective who called Karen Read a “whack job c–t” and joked about searching for nudes of her in texts during her murder probe has been suspended without pay.
State Trooper Michael Proctor — who was forced to admit to “unprofessional” messages about Read at her murder trial that ended with a hung jury — learned his fate following an internal hearing with the Massachusetts State Police Monday.
His case was reviewed by a board of three officers who examined evidence and handed down a recommendation, which was accepted by Interim Police Superintendent Col. John Mawn.
Proctor was previously relieved of duty and transferred out of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit on July 1, the day a mistrial was declared in the murder case against Read, 44.
Until the hearing Proctor was still receiving pay from his annual salary which amounted to over $184,000 last year, according to the Boston Herald.
An investigation into Proctor remains ongoing, and its findings will be sent to the State Police’s disciplinary commission which could result in a case being brought before the State Police Trial Board.
Read is accused of running over her cop beau, John O’Keefe, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in Canton, Mass., on Jan. 29, 2022. The district attorney said he plans to re-try the case.
Proctor, the lead investigator on Read’s case, had to admit to a jury in Dedham that his messages to pals were “regrettable and it’s something I’m not proud of.”
In the messages, he glibly commented on Read’s Crohn’s disease, saying, “She’s got a leaky balloon knot. Leaks poo.” He also seemed to have already determined she was guilty when he sent a message saying, “I looked at [O’Keefe’s] body in the hospital. He was banged up. She hit him with her car.”
And the detective said he inappropriately commented about messages on Read’s lawyer’s phone.
What to know about the Karen Read murder case
- Karen Read, 44, was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly mowing down her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, as she was dropping him off to meet friends in Canton, Mass., on Jan. 29, 2022.
- The night of O’Keefe’s death, the couple had been out on a bar crawl, with Read allegedly consuming seven drinks in just 90 minutes, according to reports.
- Prosecutors claim that after Read drunkenly ran over her boyfriend, she drove off and left O’Keefe to die outside as a snowstorm was set to sweep in.
- Read’s lawyers argued she was framed in a sweeping law enforcement cover-up and that O’Keefe actually died after getting into an altercation with his officer friends.
- The two-month trial that had 74 witnesses featured stunning revelations, including “unprofessional” messages by the lead detective, and crowds of fawning supporters who cheered Read outside court each day.
- On July 1, 2024, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the case, since the jury was not able to reach a unanimous verdict after five days of deliberations.
- Read faced up to life in prison if she had been convicted on the top count of murder.
“Funny, I’m going through his retarded client’s phone. No nudes so far,” Proctor admitted to writing. “I hate that man, I truly hate him.”
While Proctor copped to the “unprofessional” missives, he still maintained that his “juvenile” comments didn’t affect the integrity of the investigation.
The internal review of Proctor began before trial after the feds launched a probe of the O’Keefe death.
At trial, Read’s lawyers argued that she was a scapegoat in the middle of a sweeping law enforcement cover-up. Her lawyer claimed that O’Keefe was really killed during a fight with his cop buddies after Read dropped him off at a friend’s home.
Proctor’s texts were just more evidence that the case was rotten from the start, her lawyers claimed.
The theory gained a cult following among Read supporters, who showed up in force outside the courthouse to advocate for her innocence.
Read and O’Keefe had come from a night of bar-hopping and prosecutors say Read had seven drinks in 90 minutes, then drove her boyfriend to a friend’s house before mowing him down with her Lexus SUV.
She was hit with second-degree murder charges and faced up to life in prison if she’d been convicted.
Prosecutors have said they planned to retry the case, while Read’s defense submitted a court filming Monday claiming the jurors had confided in them that they unanimously agreed on her innocence.
Read and her married attorney Alan Jackson were caught getting cozy with each other during the week of jury deliberations on June 27 outside swanky Boston steakhouse Smith & Wollensky, The Post exclusively revealed. A Read source said the pair were just goofing off.
