Massachusetts governor urged to overhaul State Police after trooper’s vulgar texts in Karen Read case as Facebook users rip agency
Blistering criticism of a State Police investigator’s crude comments in the Karen Read murder case has a top law enforcement watchdog renewing its demand the governor overhaul the agency — as Facebook users rip into troopers online.
It’s so bad that a forced receivership of the Massachusetts State Police should be considered, “before someone else does it,” said Dennis Galvin, president of the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement (MAPLE).
“There are extremely disturbing things coming out of this trial,” Galvin said of the Read case, adding they are “serious professional issues.”
He said his organization is calling on Gov. Maura Healey to immediately establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate the agency. “There needs to be a stem-to-stern review,” Galvin, a retired State Police commander, told the Herald. He was reluctant to speak further while the Read trial enters its 26th day Monday.
Interim State Police Colonel John Mawn said in a rare statement to the Herald Sunday evening that he shares the public’s disgust but must respect “the integrity of the ongoing criminal trial and our own internal affairs investigation.”
Mawn added: “I share the outrage and acknowledge the concern surrounding the contemptible and disparaging text messages that emerged at trial. Any form of police misconduct undermines the public trust we strive to earn to effectively accomplish our mission. Despite the example of honest, hardworking women and men in our ranks, we understand as leaders that more must be done to uphold the highest standards of professionalism.”
The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the conduct of the Canton and State Police in the Read case.
A six-person search committee is also in the process of interviewing finalists for the next colonel of the State Police, according to the Healey administration.
Yet, the seemingly never-ending loop of misconduct in the State Police, including overtime abuse, drunken driving, bribery allegations, and now misogynist exchanges by an MSP trooper assigned to the Read case are exposing a feared ethical rot in the agency.
State Police Trooper Michael Proctor admitted on the stand last week to “inappropriate” and “regrettable” comments he made in texts to friends and co-workers during his investigation into Read, who is accused of killing Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe two years ago when she allegedly rammed her vehicle into him.
Proctor described Read as a “whack job,” “a babe” who had “no (butt)” and texted his sister that “hopefully (Read) kills herself,” according to evidence presented by Read’s defense lawyers. He also commented to colleagues, “No nudes so far,” when searching her phone mid-probe.
Proctor is also an investigator in the Brian Walshe murder case, where a Cohasset husband is accused of dismembering his wife and scattering her remains all over the North Shore. His trial looms next.
Healey lit up Proctor outside her office last week, saying: “As a former attorney general and as governor, I am disgusted by that. I’ll also say that this is the subject of a criminal investigation and trial, and therefore it’s not appropriate for me to speak more to that at this time.”
U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss and others echoed Healey’s caution about commenting while the trial is ongoing.
Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey’s office said the State Police headquarters in Framingham oversees all troopers. Morrissey is also a delegate to this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago Aug. 19-22, with fellow Democrats reluctant to address his status while the Read trial is coming down to the wire.
The exposure of the unprofessional inner-workings of the State Police, however, has hit the agency so hard that furious Bay State residents are turning to MSP social media posts to tear into the agency.
“Hope none of the troopers had the audacity to make fun of his illness,” a commenter said on a Facebook post about a child with a brain tumor allowed to touch MSP trucks at a recent event.
Other comments on the same post included: “You guys are some serious disgraceful thugs” and “Largest gang in Massachusetts.”
Others called for the State Police to “clean house” and “do better.” The troopers were called “brown shirts,” “shameless,” “toxic,” “criminals,” with one Facebook user urging the MSP brass to get rid of the “bad apples” and give the state back its top police unit.
“The MSP does have a chance to redeem itself,” a Facebook user said this weekend, with another saying you just risk being “Proctorized.”
The State Police do use body-worn cameras, as a Facebook user wondered, but it is not clear if Proctor ever had one on while he investigated the Canton murder of a BPD officer.
“This is all going to get worse,” a law enforcement source told the Herald. “Who runs this state?”
Gayla Cawley, Howie Carr and Chris Van Buskirk contributed.
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Trooper Michael Proctor is in the eye of the Karen Read storm for his crude comments. (Herald pool photo)