Disgraced Trooper Michael Proctor has been fired.
Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble introduced that he had accepted the MSP Trial Board’s suggestion to terminate Michael Proctor’s employment for failing to uphold company requirements, notably relating to his conduct whereas because the lead investigator within the Karen Learn case.
Proctor’s dismissal is listed as a “dishonorable discharge.”
The Trial Board, which convened on Jan. 15, Feb. 10, and March 13, discovered Proctor responsible of two violations of the company’s code of conduct: Article 5.8 Unsatisfactory Efficiency and Article 5.10 Alcoholic Drinks.
Noble mentioned in a press release that the MSP’s mission is “to deliver the highest level of police services depends on the public’s trust in our professionalism and integrity. It is incumbent upon me, as well as every member of this Department, to hold one another accountable when any member compromises our mission by failing to uphold our values.”
“I have weighed the nature of the offenses, their impact on our investigative integrity, and the importance of safeguarding the reputations of our dedicated women and men in the State Police,” Noble continued. “This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to upholding our values, enhancing public trust and ensuring the highest standards of service and accountability.”
Proctor, who earned $184K pay in 2023 based on comptroller data, was relieved of responsibility instantly following the Learn mistrial final 12 months. He was then suspended with out pay a few week later following an inner listening to.
The findings
The personnel order spelling out the trial board’s findings makes clear that Proctor’s dismissal has to do together with his work on the Learn case.
The MSP trial board discovered him responsible of 4 particular violations of the company’s guidelines of conduct.
Three of these “Specifications” are outlined within the doc as having taken place “on various dates between Jan. 29, 2022, and Aug. 17, 2022,” “when Trooper Proctor, while assigned as the lead investigator in a homicide investigation …”:
- “… sent derogatory, defamatory, disparaging, and/or otherwise inappropriate text messages about a suspect in that investigation to other individuals.”
- “… provided sensitive and/or confidential information about a homicide victim, potential witnesses and/or potential investigative steps in the investigation to non-law enforcement personnel.”
- “… through his unprofessional and inappropriate conduct, created an image that he was biased in his dealings with a homicide suspect and/or brought otherwise himself and the Massachusetts State Police into disrepute.”
The fourth and ultimate discovering is outdoors the Learn realm: the trial board discovered that on July 19, 2022, Proctor drank alcohol whereas consuming dinner on responsibility after which acquired into his MSP cruiser and drove buzzed.
The Learn case
The sensational case of Karen Learn, who’s accused of mowing down her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, along with her Lexus SUV within the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022, in Canton, was by no means hotter than the bombshell textual content messages Proctor was compelled to learn in court docket throughout his time on the witness stand throughout Learn’s trial final 12 months.
“She’s a whack job (expletive),” Proctor on June 10, 2024, from the witness stand in Norfolk Superior Courtroom, learn off from a textual content trade with mates and associates, utilizing a derogatory time period for ladies that he at first tried to spell out earlier than Decide Beverly Cannone informed him to learn it the best way he wrote it. “Yes she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No ass.”
Subsequent testimony from that day and the next day, wherein Proctor returned to the stand, revealed extra texts that Proctor admitted throughout testimony had been “inappropriate.”
Proctor texted that he had discovered “No nudes so far” whereas looking Learn’s cellphone lower than a day into his investigation, which he mentioned was “an inappropriate joke.” He mentioned he was going by way of this “retarded client’s cellphone” — a message that earned a “like” from MSP Sgt. Yuryi Bukhenik, certainly one of Proctor’s superiors on the murder unit based mostly on the Norfolk DA’s workplace.
Proctor additionally texted his sister that he hopes Learn “kills herself.”
Response
Proctor’s household despatched a press launch stating that they “are truly disappointed with the trial board’s decision as it lacks precedent, and unfairly exploits and scapegoats one of their own, a trooper with a 12-year unblemished record.” They mentioned it was a “wrongful termination.”
“Despite the Massachusetts State Police’s dubious and relentless efforts to find more inculpatory evidence against Michael Proctor on his phones, computers and cruiser data, the messages on his personal phone – referring to the person who killed a fellow beloved Boston Police Officer – are all that they found. The messages prove one thing, and that Michael is human – not corrupt, not incompetent in his role as a homicide detective, and certainly not unfit to continue to be a Massachusetts State Trooper,” the household continued.
This can be a creating story …
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