The former Massachusetts state trooper who was fired over his conduct in the Karen Read case called accusations that he’s corrupt and helped frame her “ridiculous,” saying in an interview that “there’s not one piece of evidence or fact to support that.”
“It did not happen,” Michael Proctor told “Dateline.” “I would never do something like that.”
Proctor’s comments come as Read was acquitted of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and other crimes in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Prosecutors accused Read, 45, of drunkenly backing her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him for dead outside the suburban home of a now-retired Boston police sergeant.
For more on the Karen Read verdict, tune in to “Dateline” at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. Thursday.
The jury convicted Read of just one charge — operating under the influence. She was sentenced to one year of probation.
The acquittal marked the Norfolk County District Attorney’s second attempt at prosecuting Read. Her first trial ended with a hung jury last summer. Proctor featured prominently in those proceedings, with Read’s defense team accusing him of leading a biased and corrupt investigation.
During the trial, they pointed to others — including the retired sergeant, Brian Albert — as possible suspects in O’Keefe’s death who were not properly investigated or as participants in the alleged conspiracy to cover it up.
Albert has denied the allegation. In a joint statement Wednesday, he and others accused in the alleged conspiracy called Read’s acquittal “a devastating miscarriage of justice.”
The defense argued that Proctor, the case’s lead investigator, manipulated key evidence, including a cracked taillight on Read’s SUV that authorities pointed to as a sign of the crash that they said mortally wounded O’Keefe. Fragments of red plastic were found scattered around the site of the alleged impact.
Asked if he cracked Read’s taillight to make it look a certain way, Proctor told “Dateline,” “Absolutely not.”
In their attempt to bolster allegations of Proctor’s misconduct, Read’s defense attorneys have pointed to exchanges about the case that they said he had with his sister, as well as disparaging text messages he sent about Read to family, friends and supervisors.
During the first trial, Proctor testified that his conduct did not compromise the integrity of the investigation. He acknowledged talking with his sister about the case, though he testified that he only made her aware of “newsworthy stuff.” He also acknowledged that his comments — which included derogatory statements about one of Read’s medical conditions — “dehumanized” her.
The Massachusetts State Police suspended Proctor after the mistrial and launched an internal investigation into allegations of “serious misconduct” that the agency said were raised at trial.
Proctor was dishonorably discharged earlier this year after the investigation determined he disclosed investigative details to non-law enforcement personnel and made disparaging comments about Read.
The investigation also found that he drank alcohol on duty and drove his cruiser.
While Proctor was listed as a possible witness for both the defense and prosecution in Read’s retrial, he was not called to testify.