unsealed Proctor – A newly unsealed batch of messages from former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor shows slurs and violent fantasies, renewing defense claims that the 2021 Milton murder investigation into Myles King was tainted by racism.
On the day of their fight to dismiss Myles King’s 2021 murder case, his lawyers placed a newly unsealed set of messages from former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor before the court—texts they say read like proof of something darker than bad manners.
The messages, prosecutors say were pulled from Proctor’s cellphone, describe racial slurs and violent intentions with the same casual tone Proctor used, according to the court filing, to talk about everyday life.
One message included in the motion to dismiss says: “I was planning on tying up a [n-word] and dragging him from my bumper through the streets of Randolph,” the filing alleges.
Myles King. a Black man charged in a fatal 2021 Milton shooting. has not only been facing the case itself. but the accusation that the man who led the investigation carried “deep-seated and atrocious racial animosity.” In filings. King’s attorneys—Nicole and Rosemary Scapicchio—argued that Proctor “held views so fundamentally racist and opposed to him as a black man that the entire investigation was tainted.”.
The defense also pointed to offensive images on Proctor’s phone. Among them, King’s lawyers say, was a picture of “a caged Black child flanked by two smiling white children.”
Proctor, at the center of the claims, was the lead investigator on King’s case. He was fired by State Police last year after vulgar texts he sent about another high-profile murder defendant, Karen Read, came to light.
King’s lawyers argue the pattern didn’t stop there. They accused the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office of trying to shield Proctor. “The message currently being sent is that it is acceptable to be a police officer and to hold beliefs that black people are animals responsible for all crime. and that the Commonwealth will protect people who hold those beliefs; shield them from accountability by refusing to call them as a witness; and seek protection orders to further shield their racism from the public. ” the attorneys allege in the motion.
The defense’s allegations land against a broader background already soaked in mistrust. Proctor’s texts first surfaced publicly as part of a federal probe into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. Karen Read’s boyfriend. Read was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges last year in O’Keefe’s death. She has long maintained she was framed as part of a vast law enforcement conspiracy.
Read’s lawsuit, filed earlier this month, pointed to personal messages in which Proctor called her a “wack job c**t” and “retarded,” made crass remarks about her appearance and health, and joked about searching for nude photos on her phone.
In that civil case. Read also sued State Police and the Town of Canton for civil conspiracy and negligent hiring and training. Her filing released dozens of additional vulgar, slur-filled messages between Proctor and former Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode. Read’s complaint states that the pair casually threw out derogatory terms. wished harm on women and people of color. and discussed sexually assaulting romantic partners. The complaint also says Proctor talked about “planting coke” on people.
The newly released messages in the King matter have also triggered action beyond the courtroom. The Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defender agency, called for a complete accounting of all cases involving Proctor and Goode.
In that push, CPCS chief counsel Anthony Benedetti said, “The messages point to serious bias and misconduct and raise immediate concerns about the fairness of cases in which they were involved.”
For King’s defense. the dispute is immediate: they want the murder case dismissed. arguing the investigation was not just flawed. but poisoned by the investigator’s own stated views. For prosecutors and the state’s agencies. the question is what comes next—how courts handle the claims of taint. what review is required. and whether any further cases will be pulled into the same bright light as Proctor’s messages.
Michael Proctor Myles King Milton shooting Massachusetts State Police Karen Read John O'Keefe Anthony Benedetti Committee for Public Counsel Services slur-filled texts motion to dismiss
Wait, so they unsealed texts AFTER the case started? That seems messed up.
I don’t even know the details but if he was talking crazy like that then how could it be a fair investigation. Sounds like they already had their mind made up.
The headline says “tainted by racism” but half the time prosecutors just say whatever to get out of accountability. Also isn’t this the guy who got fired over Karen Read stuff? Feels like all these cases are connected somehow.
How is it only coming out now?? And dragging somebody from a bumper through the streets… like that’s not “bad manners,” that’s straight up violent. But also I’m confused because I thought the investigation ended years ago? If they found a photo of a caged Black child, wouldn’t they’ve noticed that way earlier? The DA office trying to shield him or whatever sounds like politics to me, but then again texts don’t lie so… idk.