Massachusetts State Police Trooper’s employment battle will continue into March — the trial board hearing for the suspended Karen Read investigator went through a second day Monday and will re-convene next month for at least one more day.
Follow NBC10 Boston:
https://instagram.com/nbc10boston
https://tiktok.com/@nbc10boston
https://facebook.com/NBC10Boston
https://twitter.com/NBC10Boston
https://bsky.app/profile/nbcboston.com
The fate of Trooper Michael Proctor's career at Massachusetts State Police again went before a trial board of his colleagues Monday, but there is no imminent decision on whether he should remain on the force based on his handling of the Karen Read case.
Monday's hearing concluded after several hours, and a state police representative announced that at least one more will be needed. Proctor is due back at police headquarters in Framingham on Thursday, March 13, and if another day is needed, that Friday as well.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The hearings are not open to the public.
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.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Monday's hearing continued proceedings began last month – 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 just a couple of months, a lot is riding on the outcome of this trial board hearing.
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.
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.”
