Trooper Who Led Karen Read Investigation Suspended Without Pay: State Police

State Trooper Michael Proctor has been suspended without pay for the duration of a duty hearing to determine if he mishandled the investigation into Karen Read, a Mansfield woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, officials said.

Proctor, who led the state's investigation into Read, was removed from his position with the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office hours after her eight-week trial ended in a hung jury last week.

Proctor admitted on the witness stand that he sent "unprofessional" texts to his coworkers and friends, in which he called Read "retarded," a "wack job c*nt," and made fun of her looks, accent, and battle with Crohn's disease. He said he regretted the messages while being cross-examined.

On Monday, July 8, Massachusetts State Police announced that Proctor would be suspended from the force without pay for the duration of his misconduct hearing.

The internal investigation will determine if Proctor will face charges or lose his ability to serve as a police officer in Massachusetts, state police said.

Read is accused of killing her boyfriend Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe during a blizzard in January 2022 after investigators say she crashed into him with her Lexus after they argued.

Her trial ended last week with a hung jury after jurors could not come to a consensus after five days of deliberations.

Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. She denies the charges.

The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office intends to retry the case.

Read's trial became a national sensation, and much of the police investigation leading to Read's arrest was scrutinized and bashed in the media.

Read's defense used Proctor's text messages as an example that investigators had tunnel vision for their client and ignored other potential suspects.

Shortly after O'Keefe's death, Proctor sent messages to a group of friends that said "(Read) hit him with her car," according to Boston.com .

When one of the recipients on the text thread asked if she was attractive, Proctor gave a response that was repeatedly brought up in court.

She’s a wack job c***. Yes, she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No ass.

Proctor apologized for those remarks.

“The rest of the unprofessional and regrettable comments are something I’m not proud of,” he said on the stand, per Boston.com. “I shouldn’t have wrote them in a private or any type of setting.”

A hearing is scheduled for July 22 to determine the next steps in Read's retrial.