Former MSP Officer's iCloud Account Creates a Big Legal Mess.
Although no signs of conspiring were ever found in Michael Proctor's phone data regarding Karen Read, his derogatory texts did unleash a wider look into his phone regarding other cases.
As many of you may already know…
Former Trooper Michael Proctor was fired a while back regarding the derogatory texts he made about Karen Read on his personal phone following the tragic death of John O’Keefe.
The texts consisted of things like:
Referring to Karen Read by names like “whack job”. [1/29/22]
A mocking reference about her bowel issues. [1/29/22]
A text saying ‘no nudes so far’ when investigating the contents of her phone.[8/17/22]
(Proctor testified that the latter comment was a poor taste joke with his friends, and denies actually looking for that type of content).
A text to his sister wishing Karen would *off herself*. [2/4/22]
(Proctor testified that his “emotions got the best” of him regarding Karen Read leaving an officer to die in the snow).
Michael Proctor’s work related texts - located on his personal phone - were determined to be a sign of potential bias and misconduct, thus leading to Michael Proctor’s removal from his position with Mass State Police.
The deep dive into Proctor’s private messages first began during a federal investigation of the police investigation into John O’Keefe’s death. The effort was to seek out any evidence of ‘conspiring’ to coverup a crime and frame the drunk driver for murder.
Despite big efforts by Karen Read’s team and supporters to push the conspiracy narrative as a fact…
Zero evidence of a conspiracy to frame Karen was ever indicated to be found in Proctor’s communications.
The federal investigation was officially closed (announced by an officer of the court - Atty Hank Brennan - with permission from the DA’s office) during a pre-trial hearing for Karen Read earlier this year.
Although no conspiring was found —
There were a handful of the inappropriate texts discovered.
The judge allowed Karen Read’s defense to present them in her trial as a reflection of Proctor’s character - and potential bias.
It’s important to point out here that —
Conspiring to frame a person for murder AND the use of vulgar language about a person charged with murder are not one-in-the-same.
As the ol’ saying goes…
Correlation does not imply causation.
(image source: Statology.org)
By that flawed inference, one could also say that because Karen called John O’Keefe a vulgar name in her voicemail that she AND Proctor are BOTH guilty.
It’s a highly unreliable conclusion.
What we do know for sure is…
Proctor was fired for failing to keep his opinions neutral and ethical among colleagues, and to keep his private work matters confidential. His language was egregious and indefensible, thus he was removed from his role.
Proctor was recently attempting to appeal for his job to be reinstated, however he dropped the appeal last week after his iCloud extraction (from up to 13 years ago) brought out more concerning content further back.
The details are fairly vague at this point regarding what was exactly said and shared, as well as with whom, but regardless, it has now opened the door for further legal issues with other cases he once worked on.
Defense attorneys are currently requesting data of anything potentially exculpatory in Proctor’s iCloud history that could impact their own client’s case.
A few cases this may impact are:
Myles King (Current filing below regarding Proctor’s iCloud)
Discussion:
A serious conversation - and likely quite controversial - can be had regarding whether or not Proctor’s own rights have been violated at all regarding the dissection of his personal phone from over a decade ago. I’m not a lawyer, so this would be an interesting topic to hear discussed by those who are more well-versed in the legalities of it all.
I’ve also never been in law enforcement, but I imagine officers/investigators — those who see some of the worst of humanity on a regular basis — likely share in dark humor and emotionally charged language on occasion with others who also deal with such heaviness.
But how much do we excuse? Where would the line be drawn at?
As for now…
It appears that the Proctor iCloud saga will be a long legal road that potentially incorporates quite a few cases, and may even impact victims from receiving justice.
I think the implications of obtaining and using a state police trooper’s personal phone in a criminal case is potentially hazardous precedent. It has proven so in the READ case. My understanding is the federal government obtained his data without his knowledge which really leaves me feeling. It’s a privacy and potentially legal issue.
I want to know what was on the signal app between TB and KR. My gut instincts tell me they're pretty wild consider how hard KR is trying to get those phones back.