By Luis Fieldman
masslive.com
BOSTON — Michael Proctor, the embattled state trooper fired amid the high-profile Karen Read case, dropped his attempt to get his job back over the weekend.
He filed a letter with the state’s Civil Service Commission on Saturday notifying the board of the withdrawal of his appeal.
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Proctor signed the letter, and the commission shared a copy of the letter with MassLive on Monday in response to a public records request.
“This notice confirms the withdrawal of my appeal in the above referenced matter,” the letter dated Oct. 10 states. “I exercise my right to sign this form of my own free will.”
Proctor made headlines for the derogatory text messages he sent about Read during the investigation into the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. He joined the State Police in May 2014 and was assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office in September 2019.
Proctor was relieved of duty on July 1, 2024 — the same day Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial — and was then suspended without pay a week later. In each of his last two years as a full-time trooper, Proctor earned more than $102,000.
The State Police fired Proctor on March 19 of this year — before the start of Read’s second trial — a decision he quickly appealed to the Civil Service Commission. Read was acquitted at the second trial of the most serious charges.
Two days of hearings took place at the end of August, and more hearings were scheduled for this week.
The Civil Service Commission will issue an order of dismissal, based on the withdrawl notice, and the matter will then be dismissed.
MassLive reached out to Proctor’s attorney for comment.
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