The Massachusetts State Trooper fired from his job over unprofessional behavior during the Karen Read investigation has withdrawn his appeal of the firing.
Michael Proctor’s attorney, Daniel J. Moynihan, told the Boston Globe that they had filed notice of the withdrawal after “disclosures made available to our office on Friday,” but he did not provide any further information.
The Globe noted that court papers filed Thursday said prosecutors are reviewing an “unexpected volume of files” found on Proctor’s cell phone as part of their review of several murder cases he investigated.
The “volume of items was unexpectedly larger than the representations of Proctor’s counsel regarding the cell phone,” prosecutors said.
Proctor was suspended and then fired in July 2024 after Read’s first trial for the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend John O’Keefe ended in a mistrial. She was acquitted in a second trial earlier this year, although that jury did find her guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Testimony at the first trial found Proctor making comments about Read, calling her a “whack job,” saying he hoped she “killed herself,” and noting that he hadn’t found any nude photos on her cell phone, as CrimeOnline reported.
A Trial Board fired Proctor, who was the lead investigator in the Read case, after finding him guilty of unsatisfactory performance and drinking on the job, the Globe said. He had fought to get his job back since that time.
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[Featured image: Karen Read/AP Photo/Steven Senne and Michael Proctor/Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool]
