Tell Us

Does the Massachusetts State Police need an overhaul? This law enforcement watchdog says yes.

Trooper Michael Proctor’s text messages in the Karen Read trial have prompted a law enforcement watchdog to call for an overhaul of the embattled agency. Do you agree?

By Annie Jonas

June 17, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 14

In response to a State Police investigator’s crude text messages in the Karen Read murder case, a law enforcement watchdog has called on Gov. Maura Healey to overhaul the Massachusetts Police Police.

Dennis Galvin, president of the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement (MAPLE), told the Boston Herald the governor should establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate the embattled agency.

“There needs to be a stem-to-stern review,” Galvin, a retired State Police commander, told the Herald.

This is not the first time MAPLE has called for an investigation into the Massachusetts State Police. The watchdog has been asking for a blue ribbon investigation since 2018, and most recently submitted a letter to Healey with renewed calls for a blue ribbon commission in March, Galvin told Boston.com.

According to the March letter, a “Blue Ribbon Commission” is a panel comprised of subject matter experts that come together to solve a problem, such as allegations of police corruption and brutality. The March letter was prompted by a series of scandals involving the Massachusetts State Police earlier this year.

“The crisis of confidence facing the Massachusetts State Police strikes at the very heart of the public’s trust and confidence in our state government,” the March letter said.

State Police Trooper Michael Proctor was a lead investigator on the Karen Read murder case and admitted on the stand last week to “juvenile and regrettable” comments he made in texts to friends and co-workers during his investigation into Read, who is accused of killing Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

In the text messages, Proctor called Read “a whack job,” and a “nutbag,” made fun of her medical condition (Crohn’s disease), and used derogatory language to describe her. In a text to his sister, Proctor said he hoped Read “kills herself.” He also commented to colleagues, “No nudes so far,” when searching her phone.

“There are extremely disturbing things coming out of this trial,” Galvin said of the Read case, adding they are “serious professional issues,” according to the Herald.

The outrage over Proctor’s text messages, and the reverberations it has cast across the State Police has Healey worried, too.

Healey told reporters after Proctor stood trial that the text messages were “completely unprofessional” and harm “the dignity and integrity of the work of men and women across the State Police and law enforcement.”

“As a former attorney general and as governor, I am disgusted by that,” Healey said.

The Massachusetts State Police department has opened an investigation into Proctor.

Do you think the Massachusetts State Police needs an overhaul?

Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.

Sorry. This form is no longer available.