DA: Release of Trooper Proctor’s full phone history could compromise other cases, public privacy

DEDHAM, Mass. — Releasing the full work phone history of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who served as the lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case, could compromise public safety and jeopardize other cases, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.

In a new filing obtained Friday by Boston 25′s Ted Daniel, the DA’s office said it had conducted a “preliminary review” of data on Proctor’s “work phone and cloud.” Proctor was suspended without pay in July amid an internal affairs investigation into his “unprofessional” behavior following the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

“Releasing the entire extraction report outside of law enforcement is anticipated to jeopardize open investigations, compromise the privacy and safety of civilians, and thus be contrary to the interests of justice,” the DA’s office stated in the filing.

The release of sensitive information on Proctor’s work phone would also “pose as a physical risk to individuals and the public alike,” the DA’s office stressed.

“The phone and cloud account may include sensitive and confidential communications and information regarding unrelated cases and active investigations,” the DA’s office said. “This information may include criminal offender record information; the names and contact information of confidential informants; names and contact information of civilian witnesses and victims, including minors; impounded search warrants; status updates of covert investigations; information about grand jury proceedings; autopsy records and photographs; and other sensitive privilege information.”

The DA’s office said Massachusetts State Police shared the contents from an extraction of Proctor’s phone and cloud account with them over recent days. The office is now trying to determine what, if any data, should be publicly shared and how that would happen.

During testimony and cross-examination, Proctor came under fire for a series of disparaging texts about Read that he sent to friends, family, and supervisors, which he read aloud in court during her trial.

Proctor admitted on the stand that the texts were “unprofessional” and he apologized multiple times, telling the jury his texts did not impact his investigation into the death of John O’Keefe, Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend.

In those texts, Proctor commented on Read’s physical appearance, used vulgar language, suggested he had made up his mind based on evidence as to Read’s guilt, and said he wished Read would kill herself.

After Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the two-month-long murder trial due to a deadlocked jury, Proctor was relieved Proctor of his duty, transferred out of the Norfolk District Attorney’s State Police Detective Unit, and administratively assigned to Troop H in field services.

Earlier this summer, Boston 25 legal expert Peter Elikann said Proctor could be fired or charged criminally by the time the retrial of Read comes around. Cannone has since scheduled the retrial of Read for January 2025.

Read is accused of killing O’Keefe by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm in Canton in January 2022.

Prosecutors said Read and O’Keefe had been drinking heavily before she dropped him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow officer. They said she hit him with her SUV before driving away.

The defense sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside Albert’s home and then dragged outside and left for dead.

Proctor currently remains ineligible to work.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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