Karen Read case: Michael Proctor laughs off question about alleged cover-up
The lead investigator in the Karen Read case who was forced to step down after he was caught sending lewd text messages about her laughed off the suggestion he helped orchestrate a conspiracy against the financial analyst.
'Absolutely not,' Michael Proctor said on ABC's 20/20 when asked if he planted evidence. 'And I'm laughing because it's such a ridiculous accusation. It's something I would never do, I've never done and there's no evidence of it.'
He claimed it's only the 'loud minority' that believe he committed wrongdoing even though he was caught sending messages about Read, including calling her a 'wack job c—t.'
3 Karen Read was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges.
AP
'The silent majority, we've had an overwhelming amount of support,' he defiantly said in a distinct Boston accent in an interview that aired Wednesday. 'They're just not out here tweeting.'
Read was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges Wednesday afternoon to end the yearslong legal saga.
She was only convicted of drunk driving and let off with a year of probation.
Authorities have faced fierce criticism for the shoddy probe and even questions about whether they only went after Read as part of a sweeping cover-up.
Proctor only offered minor elements of the probe that he would have changed.
'Because it's blowing up into this crazy, crazy, so-called conspiracy, maybe I could have avoided it by looking at other people's cars just to say we did it,' Proctor said on ABC.
3 Michael Proctor was asked if he planted evidence in the case and if he helped orchestrate a conspiracy.
AP
'There's some witnesses, maybe, we could have interviewed a little sooner, but overall, myself and every detective in that office worked this case like we always do, so I wouldn't change anything.'
Proctor testified in the first trial and was grilled by the defense about the shocking messages. He was dismissed by the Massachusetts State Troopers between the first and second trial, and did not appear in the second go-around.
He told 20/20 that the vulgar messages he sent were 'regrettable,' but argued the content doesn't show the investigation was improper.
3 Read's former boyfriend, police officer John O'Keefe died in January of 2022.
Courtesy of David Yannetti
'I see someone who's caught up in the moment of investigating a fellow police officer and just saying inappropriate things,' he said.
He said the text in which he claimed he hoped that Read would kill herself was 'made in jest.'
'It's a figure of speech,' he bizarrely insisted, adding his negative feelings toward her grew as the case dragged on because a Boston cop was the victim.
An emotional Proctor described how he was hysterical when he found out he was being pulled from service leading up to his dishonorable discharge.
'I don't know any trooper that's been punished for personal text messages on their personal phone let alone fired,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Lawyer who once defended drug kingpin ‘El Chapo' questions critics of her judicial victory
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Of the roughly 2,600 judges elected for the first time by Mexicans earlier this month, Silvia Delgado García received more attention than almost any other because she once helped represent drug kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. That single client in a nearly two decade career as a criminal defense attorney in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, made Delgado standout in the historic June 1 election, name recognition that may have helped her victory formally certified Thursday. Delgado won a spot as a criminal court judge in Ciudad Juarez in the June 1 election. At Thursday's ceremony, Delgado smiled, got emotional and received hugs. Speaking to reporters later, she said it was time for her defense work to stop being described as a 'tie' to the drug lord. She was just doing her job, she said. 'The only thing that we do is a job,' she said. 'The decision to enter in this electoral process was very simple: I wanted to strengthen my career helping the community. I've helped so many here, helping defend.' In 2016, Delgado García was a member of Sinaloa cartel leader Guzmán's legal team when he was temporarily held in a prison in Ciudad Juarez before being extradited to the United States. He was eventually tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. Some critics of electing judges, and a human rights litigation group called Defensorxs, had labeled Delgado García 'high risk' before the vote, because 'she defends alleged drug traffickers.' Hailed as a way to make corrupt judges accountable to the people and clean up Mexico's judiciary by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the historic elections that covered more than 2,600 positions ranging up to the country's Supreme Court, drew only a paltry 13% voter participation. Critics feared it would politicize the judiciary and offer organized crime an easier path to influencing judicial decisions. Mexico's governing Morena party was poised to gain control of the Supreme Court as a majority of the winners had strong ties to the party or were aligned ideologically. On Thursday, Delgado noted that she had been called out for petitioning the court that Guzmán be given a blanket in prison. 'Is it bad that if a person is not accustomed to the cold that he have a blanket?' she asked. 'I have been in the eye of the hurricane for that reason.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
After Karen Read debacle, Michael Proctor's work in other murder cases faces scrutiny
They have asked judges to grant them access to Proctor's work and personal cellphones, his work iCloud account, and disciplinary records for him and some State Police colleagues and supervisors in the office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, court records show. Proctor did not testify in the retrial of Read, who was acquitted Wednesday of any responsibility in the 2022 death of O'Keefe, after a mistrial last year. But his role in the initial Read investigation could tarnish his other work. Advertisement 'I believe that the district attorney's office is going to find it harder and harder to run away from Proctor in the other cases that Proctor was involved in,' said attorney Rosemary Scapicchio, who represents three men being prosecuted for murder in cases investigated by Proctor. In cases that prosecutors do distance themselves from Proctor, she added, defense attorneys should be able to inform the jury and ask, 'Why do you think that is?' Advertisement As recently as Tuesday, a judge granted access to some records from Proctor's work and personal cellphones to Scapicchio and other defense lawyers in two pending murder cases, court records show. The identical rulings also ordered Proctor to provide his personal cellphone as well as carrier information to prosecutors and preserve the device and its data. In his orders, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Michael P. Doolin wrote that he had reviewed an independent report about data pulled from Proctor's work phone that found communications that 'support the defense theory that police bias played a role' in the cases. The communications do not 'specifically address' the defendants, Doolin wrote, but they 'demonstrate a pattern of bias and misconduct by Proctor in conducting investigations that fairly suggests there may have been similar impropriety in this case that casts doubt on his credibility as an investigator generally.' He didn't elaborate. Proctor, who has State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble, who took the helm of the force last year, Doolin's ruling involved prosecutions stemming from two fatal shootings that Proctor handled as a lead investigator. Advertisement Shawn Johnson and Jovani Delossantos are charged with murder stemming from the fatal shooting of Ivanildo Cabral, 29, outside of Mojitos Country Club in Randolph on July 4, 2022. King, Johnson, and Delossantos have pleaded not guilty. Proctor was also the lead investigator in the death of Ana Walshe, 39, who prosecutors allege was killed by her husband, Brian, on New Year's Day following a gathering at the couple's Cohasset home. Morrissey's office has said it doesn't plan to call Proctor to testify at that trial. Brian Walshe has pleaded not guilty. But Walshe's lawyers sought a copy of all data extracted from Proctor's work cellphone and iCloud account as well as disciplinary files for him and other troopers assigned to Morrissey's office, and records from a separate federal investigation examining the death of O'Keefe. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Diane C. Freniere declined to grant Walshe's lawyers access to the full scope of records they've sought, though she allowed some requests. 'Simply alleging that there was demonstrated bias by Trooper Proctor against a particular defendant in a different case does not entitle the defendant to access to confidential internal affairs records in order to search for other potential impeachment evidence,' Freniere wrote in the decision. Since then, the prosecution and defense have reached agreements on protective orders governing access to Proctor's internal affairs records, an independent report of data extracted from his work cellphone and iCloud account, and text messages he sent about Read, court records show. Walshe has also asked a judge to toss some of the evidence against him, and a hearing is scheduled for next month to consider his request to dismiss the murder charge, court records show. Advertisement Attorney Larry Tipton, a lawyer for Walshe, declined to comment Thursday. Proctor is also being scrutinized for his role in an investigation that began before he was assigned to Morrissey's office. In 2017, Proctor was the first officer to arrive at the scene of a fatal shooting on Interstate 93 that claimed the life of Scott Stevens Jr., 32, as he drove a motorcycle through Boston, court records show. Scapicchio, who represents Holloman, has pending requests in that case for a range of records concerning Proctor, court records show. Chris Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, said Proctor's widely publicized misconduct in Read's case made him vulnerable to challenges to his work in other investigations. 'There's a compelling argument that if you acted that inappropriately and unprofessionally in one case, arguably compromising and infecting that investigation, it stands to reason that he might have acted similarly in other investigations,' Dearborn said. Yet how much of Proctor's work will be turned over to the defense in those prosecutions, and whether juries get to hear it are unclear, he said. 'Judges are going to have to make case by case determinations,' he said. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
John O'Keefe pal slams Karen Read for claiming she fought for ‘justice': ‘More evidence that points to her than anybody else'
A close friend of slain Boston cop John O'Keefe slammed Karen Read for proclaiming she's fought for justice in her beau's case harder than anyone else — just after she was acquitted of his murder. The officer's pal, John Jackson, told The Post that Read, who was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her car and leaving him to die in the snow, wasn't there for him when he desperately needed her. 'The irony of that, right? How hard was she fighting between 12:30 and 6 in the morning on Jan. 29, 2022?' Jackson said Thursday. 8 Karen Read speaking outside of Norfolk County Superior Court after she was found not guilty of murdering her boyfriend John O'Keefe on June 18, 2025. David McGlynn 8 Read claimed that she is fighting for O'Keefe to receive justice after she was acquitted. Courtesy of David Yannetti 'You want to fight for justice now, fine. But in the moment when he needed you, you weren't there. You caused it and you weren't there.' O'Keefe was left to die in a snowbank for hours overnight and his frozen body was discovered the following morning after Read dropped him off at a house party in Canton in January 2022 — setting off the explosive legal spectacle. The longtime pal of O'Keefe ripped into the financial analyst, claiming 'there is more evidence that points to her than anybody else' and eviscerated her obsessive legion of fans that went wild after she was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges. Read, 45, was accused of striking O'Keefe, 46, with her Lexus on Jan. 29, 2022 after dropping him off at a house party in Canton more than three years ago. She was quickly charged, but her legal team claimed the investigation was shoddy and argued she was being scapegoated by law enforcement. 8 A friend of John O'Keefe blasted Read's claim about seeking justice for the late police officer. AP 8 Read crying in the courtroom after the verdict was read. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images She took a victory lap after the acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges, boldly claiming to her crowd of supporters, 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have.' She was only convicted of drunk driving and given a year of probation. Her first trial ended in a hung jury. About 12 hours after the verdict was revealed, Jackson was still downtrodden while noting O'Keefe's family was 'surprised' and 'heartbroken' by the jury's decision to only convict on the drunk driving charge. 8 O'Keefe's mother Peggy O'Keefe in court during jury deliberations on June 18, 2025. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool 'The reality is whether it's beyond a reasonable doubt or not in the eyes of the jury, there is more evidence that points to her than anybody else,' Jackson, 49, said. 'And for us, that's a shame because we feel like it's a missed opportunity for justice.' 'The story is she was there the last time he moved,' he also claimed. 'She was there the last time he moved with her car. If you want to believe anything else, that's your prerogative. I would suggest you don't let other people tell you what to think.' One of the unavoidable scenes during the months-long retrial was the hordes of Read supporters congregating outside the courthouse to support the former college professor. 8 A crowd of Read's supporters outside the Massachusetts courtroom on June 18, 2025. David McGlynn 8 A supporter of Read celebrating the not guilty verdict. David McGlynn The fanatics wore pink and would flash a silent hand gesture that means 'I love you' in American Sign Language. Jackson said her supporters must've suspended 'all critical thinking' to root for Read and questioned if they longed to be part of a community. 'To turn around and see grown men wearing pink shirts and holding signs,' Jackson said. 'Really? That's what you want to do on a Saturday? You have time for that?' 8 Read making an 'I love you' hand sign to supporters at the courthouse. David McGlynn Jackson, who was a pallbearer at O'Keefe's funeral, said some supporters have harassed O'Keefe's family and friends during the legal saga that spanned over two trials and started more than three years, including doxxing anyone who spoke up against Read. 'I think there is some social control there,' Jackson said when asked if he thought the pro-Read group was like a cult. 'Whether it be the pull of wanting to belong to something greater than yourself … but you can fulfill that need by doing something good, something greater than supporting someone who the evidence doesn't point to anybody else but her.' Meanwhile, he remembered his late friend as an 'incredible man' who stepped up to raise his orphaned niece and nephew after their parents died. 'He didn't think about it. He did it,' Jackson said. 'That is a real hero.'
