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Judge OKs Karen Read’s use of Proctor texts in new civil lawsuit
Read’s lawyers previously alleged the ex-trooper’s messages were “staggeringly anti-woman, racist, homophobic, [and] antisemitic.”
A judge has allowed Karen Read to use materials from Michael Proctor’s cellphone in an upcoming lawsuit after her lawyers argued the ex-trooper’s “staggeringly anti-woman, racist, homophobic, [and] antisemitic” texts were key to Read’s new claims against Canton and Massachusetts State Police.
More on Karen Read:
Read was already allowed to use the messages to defend herself against a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of her late boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. Monday’s order from Norfolk Superior Court Judge Michael Doolin expands Read’s access to the materials while continuing to shield their content from public view under strict confidentiality protocols.
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Read was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges last year after prosecutors alleged she drunkenly backed her SUV into O’Keefe following a night of bar-hopping in January 2022. Proctor, who led the murder investigation, shot to national infamy after a federal probe into the state’s handling of the case revealed he sent lewd texts about Read to friends, family, and coworkers.
State Police fired Proctor in 2025, citing his conduct during the case.
Norfolk County prosecutors previously confirmed Proctor’s personal phone contained “images of intimate body parts” and other sensitive information, but a hearing last week shed further light on the ex-trooper’s purportedly vulgar messages. According to attorney Rosemary Scapicchio, who is representing two other murder defendants Proctor investigated, the texts also show a bias against “Black and brown individuals.”
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“He’ll say things like, ‘It’s kill an n-word in Canton day,’” Scapicchio alleged.
Aaron Rosenberg, one of Read’s civil attorneys, said Proctor’s messages are “highly relevant” to Read’s forthcoming claims of negligent hiring, supervision, and training by state and local police. Read intends to file that lawsuit “in a matter of weeks,” he said.
In addition to her forthcoming suit, Read is suing Proctor and several other investigators and witnesses she claims conspired to frame her for murder. Some of those witnesses have also filed a defamation lawsuit against Read and Turtleboy blogger Aidan Kearney.
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