The lead investigator in a high-profile murder trial in which defense attorneys accused police of framing their client has been relieved of duty, NBC News reported on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 (read story here).
The murder victim, a police officer, was the defendant’s boyfriend. They reputedly had a tumultuous relationship. She’s accused of backing her car over him at a drunken house party, but her attorneys claim he was beaten by partygoers (read details here).
The detective, Michael Proctor, a state trooper, testified at the trial (photo, right) and admitted sending vulgar texts about defendant Karen Read to his sister.
The defense accusations of misconduct, and Proctor’s admissions on the witness stand, prompted an internal affairs investigation that concluded he was biased against Read, didn’t investigate other suspects, hoped she would kill herself, complained about not finding nude photos on her phone, made disparaging remarks about her physique and mental abilities, and had undisclosed relationships with family members of the police officer who owns the party house.
Those revelations didn’t prove Read’s innocence, but undermined the prosecution by calling into question the integrity of the criminal investigation, resulting in a hung jury. The action against Proctor came immediately after the judge declared a mistrial.
The police union supported Proctor during the trial by showing up and standing silently in the courtroom, and reacted to his demotion by saying his text messages validate the defense claims of police corruption or coverup (see that story here).