Family of State Police Trooper Michael Proctor blasts Karen Read for making ‘egregiously false statements'
Elizabeth Proctor referred to text messages her husband sent to friends and coworkers in the early stages of the Read investigation, in which he spoke crudely of seeking nude photos on her phone, mocked her medical condition, and maligned her as a 'whack job.'
Proctor was
Prosecutors allege she backed her Lexus SUV
Read's
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In the statement, Elizabeth Proctor said Read's lawyers are 'unabashedly creating false narratives and distracting the public and potential jurors from clear-cut evidence.
"
Her words were echoed by Proctor's sister, Courtney Proctor.
'Michael — and so many others in his line of work — see horrible things every day and may at times need to vent personally," she said. 'He saw a fellow officer die a horrible, tragic death. Who among us has not said something regrettable in moments of stress, shock, or sadness? And how would you feel if the contents of your personal phone were questionably released to the public without full context?'
The text messages came to light as part of
No one has been charged with any federal crimes in connection with the case, and special prosecutor Hank Brennan said
'Unfortunately, we know that by speaking out, more harassment will be unleashed on our family,' Elizabeth Proctor said in her statement. 'But we can no longer stand by and silently watch Michael's character be attacked and disparaged so unfairly. After exhaustive investigations at both the state and federal level, and a grand jury, only one person has been charged with a crime, the defendant Karen Read.'
Meanwhile, Read's lawyers and prosecutors have filed dozens of motions this week related to expected witnesses, evidence, and legal arguments in the coming retrial.
Among them is a prosecution motion to bar Read's lawyers from making a third-party culprit argument, and a defense motion to allow them to inform the jury that two crash reconstruction analysts were initially hired by the federal government.
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The two witnesses, from the Philadelphia-based company ARCCA, were initially hired as part of the Justice Department probe and
While that was technically true, Read's lawyers
As for Proctor, he has been suspended without pay for months, and he had another appearance scheduled Thursday before a State Police Trial Board, according to
The board will recommend sanctions to Col. Geoffrey Noble, who leads the agency.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at
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