After Karen Read debacle, Michael Proctor's work in other murder cases faces scrutiny
They have asked judges to grant them access to Proctor's work and personal cellphones, his work iCloud account, and disciplinary records for him and some State Police colleagues and supervisors in the office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, court records show.
Proctor did not testify in the retrial of Read, who was acquitted Wednesday of any responsibility in the 2022 death of O'Keefe, after a mistrial last year. But his role in the initial Read investigation could tarnish his other work.
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'I believe that the district attorney's office is going to find it harder and harder to run away from Proctor in the other cases that Proctor was involved in,' said attorney Rosemary Scapicchio, who represents three men being prosecuted for murder in cases investigated by Proctor.
In cases that prosecutors do distance themselves from Proctor, she added, defense attorneys should be able to inform the jury and ask, 'Why do you think that is?'
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As recently as Tuesday, a judge granted access to some records from Proctor's work and personal cellphones to Scapicchio and other defense lawyers in two pending murder cases, court records show.
The identical rulings also ordered Proctor to provide his personal cellphone as well as carrier information to prosecutors and preserve the device and its data.
In his orders, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Michael P. Doolin
wrote that
he had reviewed an independent report about data pulled from Proctor's work phone that found communications that 'support the defense theory that police bias played a role' in the cases.
The communications do not 'specifically address' the defendants, Doolin wrote, but they 'demonstrate a pattern of bias and misconduct by Proctor in conducting investigations that fairly suggests there may have been similar impropriety in this case that casts doubt on his credibility as an investigator generally.' He didn't elaborate.
Proctor, who has
State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble, who took the helm of the force last year,
Doolin's ruling involved
prosecutions stemming from two fatal shootings that Proctor handled as a lead investigator.
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Shawn Johnson and Jovani Delossantos are charged with murder stemming from the fatal shooting of Ivanildo Cabral, 29, outside of Mojitos
Country Club in Randolph on July 4, 2022.
King, Johnson, and Delossantos have pleaded not guilty.
Proctor was also the lead investigator in the death of Ana Walshe, 39, who prosecutors allege was killed by her husband, Brian, on New Year's Day following a gathering at the couple's Cohasset home.
Morrissey's office has said it doesn't plan to call Proctor to testify at that trial. Brian Walshe has pleaded not guilty.
But
Walshe's lawyers sought a copy of all data extracted from Proctor's work cellphone and iCloud account as well as disciplinary files for him and other troopers assigned to Morrissey's office, and records from a separate federal investigation examining the death of O'Keefe.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Diane C. Freniere declined to grant Walshe's lawyers access to the full scope of records they've sought, though she allowed some requests.
'Simply alleging that there was demonstrated bias by Trooper Proctor against a particular defendant in a different case does not entitle the defendant to access to confidential internal affairs records in order to search for other potential impeachment evidence,' Freniere wrote in the decision.
Since then, the prosecution and defense have reached agreements on protective orders governing access to Proctor's internal affairs records, an independent report of data extracted from his work cellphone and iCloud account, and text messages he sent about Read, court records show.
Walshe has also asked a judge to toss some of the evidence against him, and a hearing is scheduled for
next month to consider his request to dismiss the murder charge, court records show.
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Attorney Larry Tipton, a lawyer for Walshe, declined to comment Thursday.
Proctor is also being scrutinized for his role in an investigation that began before he was assigned to Morrissey's office.
In 2017, Proctor was the first officer to arrive at the scene of a fatal shooting on Interstate 93 that claimed the life of Scott Stevens Jr., 32, as he drove a motorcycle through Boston, court records show.
Scapicchio, who represents Holloman, has pending requests in that case for a range of records concerning Proctor, court records show.
Chris Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, said Proctor's widely publicized misconduct in Read's case made him vulnerable to challenges to his work in other investigations.
'There's a compelling argument that if you acted that inappropriately and unprofessionally in one case, arguably compromising and infecting that investigation, it stands to reason that he might have acted similarly in other investigations,' Dearborn said.
Yet how much of Proctor's work will be turned over to the defense in those prosecutions, and whether juries get to hear it are unclear, he said.
'Judges are going to have to make case by case determinations,' he said.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
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Politico
an hour ago
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The Karen Read race
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Advertisement All around the world, people who couldn't even believe they cared held their breath until, finally, the verdict was read in open court: Karen Read was not guilty of murdering John O'Keefe. Not guilty of manslaughter. Guilty only of operating a vehicle under the influence. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up The defense team hugged. The victim's family disappeared from view, as if they had done something wrong. Law enforcement mustered on the steps of the courthouse. The pink bosoms heaved, their hearts full, their eyes on the courthouse doors. It was like waiting for the royal family, or maybe the pope, to take the balcony. Finally, their icon appeared. Read and attorney Alan Jackson flashed the American Sign Language sign for 'I love you.' Attorney David Yannetti pumped his fists. Advertisement 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have,' Read said. It was glorious — the release they'd all been waiting for — but eventually the stars left the stage and climbed into dark cars and pulled away, and the crowd dispersed and the traffic in downtown Dedham began to flow, and that seemed to be that. The end of an era. Supporters of Karen Read react after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday in Dedham. Josh Reynolds/Associated Press Or, was it? Painful as it is, perhaps now is a good time to recall the Indeed, no sooner had the jury delivered its verdict than the last three and a half years began to feel like merely the prelude to an even juicer season, starting, of course, with the hunt for the real killer! 'The time has come to scrutinize the actions of [people] who were caught lying — committing perjury during the trial,' a Read supporter wrote on Facebook. On the X platform, the snark and 'gotchas' continued with zest, as if the trial hadn't ended. 'Imagine getting convicted of a DUI and you walk outside to streets full of people cheering you on,' one post read. 'The saddest part of the Karen Read saga is John O'Keefe is still dead and the people who actually murdered him will never be punished thanks to the thin blue line,' read another. It was the same story outside the courthouse, where Read supporters were trying to propel the action forward. 'Bev needs to go! Bev needs to go!' the crowd chanted, waving American flags and gunning for Judge Beverly Cannone. Advertisement Aidan Kearney, the now-supercharged blogger known as Turtleboy, announced that he was at last free to reveal that he's involved with a The plot points kept coming. Some of the trial's witnesses put out a somewhat ominous statement. 'While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories,' read the statement from Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read when she found O'Keefe's body in the snow; Brian Albert, who lived at the home where O'Keefe's body was found, and others. The town of Canton, apparently desperate to move forward (as if), put out its own declaration. 'We encourage members of the community to move forward together, treating one another with respect through civil, constructive dialogue,' it said. And throughout the region, regular citizens began to face a scary reality: themselves. What would they turn to to take their minds off their own lives now? What are people going to do now that they don't have the Read trial to watch or discuss or argue over? Sure, there are books to read, hobbies to develop, and nonprofits at which to volunteer. Then again, considering the pending Beth Teitell can be reached at
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