The State Police union is criticizing the agency for suspending Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case, without pay, calling the move a “punishment to his young family.”

The statement from Brian Williams, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, came a day after Interim State Police Col. John Mawn accepted a recommendation that Proctor be suspended without pay, effective immediately.

Proctor made $184,397 last year, according to state comptroller records.

“The decision to suspend him without pay pending the outcome of the investigation is disappointing because it shifts Trooper Proctor’s punishment to his young family,” Williams said in his statement.

“His children will lose access to benefits such as health insurance,” he continued. “To mitigate the impact on them, a more reasonable action would have been a suspension that did not affect their medical coverage.”

State Police officials called a virtual duty status hearing for Proctor on Monday, in which a board of three determined whether the trooper would remain on full duty, be placed on restricted duty, be suspended with pay, or be suspended without pay.

Hours after Norfolk County Judge Beverly Cannone declared a hung jury in the Read murder trial on July 1, State Police relieved the trooper of duty, transferring him out of the Detective Unit assigned to the Norfolk County DA’s Office.

Proctor had the opportunity to be represented by counsel and defend his actions during the hearing which was closed off to the public and media.

Williams is standing firm in the union’s stance that Proctor’s discipline is connected to private text messages he exchanged during the investigation.

“To date, we have received no information to indicate that his suspension was the result of anything other than these text message exchanges,” the union president said in his statement. “We would like to reiterate that unless the Department’s ongoing investigation proves otherwise, yesterday’s actions have no relationship to salacious allegations of cover-ups, collusion or conspiracies offered by the defense.”

Proctor’s two-day testimony during the trial led lawyers to reveal personal texts in which the trooper used degrading and explicit language regarding Read, leading to widespread criticism of the investigator’s conduct and an internal review by the State Police.

In some messages, Proctor called Read a “whack job (expletive) and a “babe,” wrote “No nudes so far” to colleagues while searching her phone, and made explicit fun of her gastrointestinal issues, among other derogatory comments.

“The State Police Association of Massachusetts will never condone the unacceptable language used in personal text messages presented as evidence during the trial,” Williams said in his statement.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of killing her boyfriend of two years, a 16-year Boston Police officer, by backing her Lexus SUV into him at high speed, leaving him to die in the cold during a major snowstorm.

She is being charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death

The defense has alleged a massive frame-up job to ensnare Read, arguing that O’Keefe was beaten to death inside 34 Fairview Road in Canton before his body was dragged to the front yard.

“Every member of the Massachusetts State Police hopes that the O’Keefe Family finds peace, comfort, and closure as they continue to mourn the loss of their loved one,” Williams said in his statement. “Until the focus is shifted away from collateral issues and back to investigating and prosecuting the death of John O’Keefe, the justice his family deserves will be delayed.”