A day after Karen Read was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, the commander of the Massachusetts State Police said the high-profile case caused the police department to reflect.
State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble released a statement on Thursday expressing his deepest sympathies to the family of Read’s lover, Boston Police Officer John O. Keefe, whom she was suspected of killing three years ago on a snowy night in Canton.
In the end, jurors found Read guilty of drunk driving but cleared her of her most serious charges.
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Given the crude messages that former Trooper Michael Proctor wrote to friends, family, and coworkers while spearheading the investigation into O Keefe’s death, the case put state and local law enforcement under intense scrutiny.
According to Noble, the past three years’ events have forced our Department to carefully examine our conduct and take decisive action to provide advanced investigative training, guarantee proper oversight, and improve accountability.
After it was revealed that the former soldier had called Read a dumb and wack job c**t, made offensive comments about her appearance and long-term medical condition, and joked about looking through her smartphone for naked pictures, Proctor’s texts clouded Read’s two trials. Read’s defense team used the messages to support their claims that the investigators were biased against Read from the beginning.
Not called to testify during Read’s retrial, Proctor was suspended without pay and sacked in March after Noble determined that he had portrayed himself and the Massachusetts State Police as biased in his interactions with a murder suspect.
Proctor has denied the defense team’s claims of conspiracy and evidence tampering, even though he has admitted that his texts are regrettable and could be interpreted as sexist and misogynistic.
In a post-verdict special that aired Wednesday night, Proctor told ABC News’ Matt Gutman that having a fellow police officer my age with two children of his own causes feelings, which I shouldn’t have communicated negatively. I shouldn’t have sent any texts to my friends at all.
After State Police first removed him of his duties, he informed Gutman he was in total hysteria, and he is currently contesting his dismissal.
According to Noble, a comprehensive, equitable, and unbiased disciplinary procedure was followed in his decision to fire Proctor.
State Police claim that since taking over the agency, Noble has given State Police detectives thorough in-service training on subjects like DNA processing, case management and reporting, social media and personal phone use, and trial testimony.
In order to strengthen oversight and accountability, he also reorganized the Division of Investigative Services inside the organization, according to State Police.
According to Noble, the State Police have improved and will continue to do so under my leadership as Colonel. Our goal is still to provide top-notch police services that uphold public confidence and demonstrate the importance of professionalism.
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Abby Patkin covers a wide range of topics as a general assignment news reporter, including crime, public transportation, health, and everything in between. She has been reporting on the murder case of Karen Read.
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