Remarks made by a state police trooper who led the investigation into accusations that Karen Read killed a Boston policeman were “disparaging” and “objectifying,” Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday at the State House.

State Police Trooper Michael Proctor admitted this 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 John O’Keefe two years ago when she allegedly rammed her vehicle into him.

Proctor described Read as a “whack job,” “a babe,” and texted his sister that “hopefully (Read) kills herself,” according to evidence presented by Read’s defense lawyers.

Healey said the messages were “terrible” and harmed the “dignity and integrity” of the Massachusetts State Police and other law enforcement agencies.

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“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,” Healey told reporters outside her office.

Proctor has repeatedly apologized for the remarks during testimony in court but Read’s defense lawyers have seized on them as a way to characterize the murder investigation as biased.

“These regrettable and unprofessional comments are not something I’m proud of and are not something I should have written in private or any other setting,” Proctor said in court.

The Massachusetts State Police has faced a litany of scandals over the years but is in the process of searching for a new superintendent and colonel. A six-person search committee is in the process of interviewing finalists for the job, according to the Healey administration.

Materials from the State House News Service were used in this report.