Trooper Michael Proctor, who has been suspended without pay since July, is facing a trial board after misconduct allegations came to light during the first Karen Read trial last summer.
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Embattled Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor is facing a third day of trial board proceedings Thursday as the panel weighs whether he should remain on the force based on his handling of the Karen Read case.
The second day of proceedings on Feb. 10 ended without a decision, with a state police representative announcing that at least one more will be needed. Proctor will return to police headquarters in Framingham on Thursday, and if another day is needed, that Friday as well.
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When the trial board hearing concludes, any recommendations would be sent to the leader of the state police, Col. Geoffrey Noble, and to the state’s POST Commission. There's no timeline for how long that would take.
Also Wednesday, Proctor's wife and sister released a statement saying that Read's lawyers have maligned Proctor's character as a distraction from the case.
This is a continuation of proceedings that started in January – and it obviously has implications far beyond Proctor’s own career in law enforcement.
With the retrial of Karen Read’s murder case coming up in April, a lot is riding on the outcome of this trial board hearing. Allegations of bad behavior by law enforcement -- and the fallout -- have been a central theme of the case.
As the lead investigator in the Read case, Proctor faced allegations of misconduct and criticism for his highly offensive text messages about Read that were read aloud in court during the first trial. He admitted on the stand that those messages were unprofessional and regrettable.
Proctor’s initial suspension came after Read’s mistrial was declared last July.
NBC10 Boston Legal Analyst Michael Coyne says Proctor’s conduct could hurt the commonwealth’s case.
“In my opinion, it couldn’t look much worse right now – the language that he used, the things he was telling his friends, and the involvement of his superiors in some of those text messages, to me it’s virtually catastrophic for the government as is, so it only could marginally get worse as I see it," Coyne said. "But it could get worse obviously if he’s terminated and now you still nonetheless have to put him on the stand.”
