Trooper Proctor Appeals Firing: Karen Read's Lead Investigator Fights for Job Back | Case Brief

The Emily Show

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True Crime, Entertainment News, News

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🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Watch the full coverage of the live stream on The Emily D. Baker YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/BCja5KnBz4k

Former Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, is appealing his termination from the Massachusetts State Police. He was fired in March after an internal investigation sustained allegations of misconduct, including derogatory text messages, sharing information outside the department, and drinking alcohol on duty.

Proctor has civil service protections in his job, and his appeal is being supported and paid for by the police union. The union's involvement may also be to prevent his termination from setting a precedent for other officers. Proctor stated in an interview that he wants his job back, claiming that "no one's ever fired for personal texts."

A procedural hearing for his appeal was held virtually on Tuesday as part of his appeal to the state's Civil Service Commission, an independent body that handles issues of state and local worker discipline. State Police requested the hearing be made public, which some see as a step towards transparency. A full in-person hearing is scheduled for mid-August.

During the procedural hearing, lawyers for Proctor and the State Police indicated they had reached an agreement regarding evidence discovery, although it might take longer than anticipated. Proctor remains certified as an officer in Massachusetts, even without a law enforcement agency. The Karen Read case has also led to other changes within the Massachusetts State Police, including the reassignment of Proctor's supervisor, Yuri Bukhenik, and the relocation of another trooper involved in the case, David DiCicco. The Civil Service Commission will ultimately decide whether Trooper Proctor will get his job back.

RESOURCES

NBC 10 Boston Reporting - https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/michael-proctor-mass-state-police-appeal-hearing/3761846/

Proctor's Post Trial Interview - https://www.youtube.com/live/i7IdKgUQoDU?t=7615s

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back. It's time for a case brief, keeping you in the loop with the cases you care about most.
0:03.9	Just more briefly. If you want the full coverage, it's linked in the description below.
0:07.7	But for now, let's get into it.
0:10.8	Yesterday, we had some new news about Trooper Proctor.
0:14.3	He had indicated that he was going to appeal the decision of his termination.
0:18.0	And, well, he's appealing the decision of his terminations i saw a lot of you
0:22.9	like how in the world is proctor appealing he's been fired right he has different types of civil
0:32.1	service protections in his job and so the police union is appealing with him.
0:38.3	So from NBC Boston, Michael Proctor's appeal over state police termination moves forward with hearing.
0:45.3	Trooper Proctor does have the right to appeal the decision and those appeals are paid for by their union.
0:52.3	Their union is who is pursuing this forward. They might be pursuing that on
0:58.4	grounds for Trooper Proctor, but also oftentimes, and I can't say all the time, oftentimes,
1:05.0	unions will pursue this to not set a precedent that this is grounds for termination for
1:09.5	other officers who come forward.
1:12.9	So lead Karen Reed investigator, Michael Proctor's effort to appeal his firing as a Massachusetts
1:18.6	state police trooper continues. He appeared at a virtual hearing on Tuesday. So yesterday,
1:23.6	while we were streaming, he was in court. And we heard him talk about this. In the episode where I covered some of the interview clips,
1:30.3	Trooper Proctor was talking about the fact
1:32.3	that no one's ever fired for personal texts.
1:34.3	Proctor was fired in March after an internal investigation announced
1:37.3	in the wake of Reed's first trial,
1:39.3	sustained allegations of misconduct, including over-derogatory text messages,
	...

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