Karen Read Updates: Disgraced Trooper Michael Proctor Fights to Get His Job Back and Elizabeth Banks is Playing Her in the TV Series

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We're just over two months since the Not Guiltys came in on the Masshole Retrial of the Century, when Karen Read was acquitted of all charges - at least the ones anybody cared about - in the murder of her boyfriend, one of Boston's Finest, Officer John O'Keefe. 

Well as they say on Letterkenny, as sure as God's got sandals, two things were going to happen in the aftermath of these trials. They were as inevitable as night following day. Guaranteed to a moral certainty. And they've both happened this week. We knew that lead investigator Michael Proctor was going to try to get the job back that he lost in disgrace. And we knew that The Commonwealth v. Karen Read was going to get the docuseries treatment. 

Let's take them one at a time. First Proctor's hearing, since it was as wild as you'd expect from this case. This was the opening statement of the entire proceeding from the lawyer representing the MA State Police:

“Distasteful, unprofessional, inappropriate, in poor taste, juvenile, sexist, disgusting, dehumanizing. These words are Michael Proctor’s own accounting of his conduct in this case.”

That's a first pitch fastball aimed right at Proctor's earflap. And after he got up, dusted himself off and got back in the batter's box, things only got worse. 

Naturally these little chestnuts from the first trial came up:

As well that time Proctor was forced to play this compilation off his Greatest Hits album:

In case you've forgotten the lyrics:

"Whack job. Cunt. 'Is she hot at least?' Yes. She's a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No ass though. Nutbag, as Chief would say."

And credit where it's due to Judge Beverly Cannone for not making Proctor own his words with his attempt at "C U Next Tuesday," or however he tried to puss out of reading them. 

And in reply to all that being put on the record as the reason the MSP fired the man who was texting this stuff to his buddies about his one and only suspect during an investigation into a the homicide of a cop found dying on the lawn of another cop, his lawyers argued that Proctor was … being treated unfairly. 

Boston Herald - [MSP attorney Stephen]  Carley called MSP internal affairs investigator Detective Lieutenant Kevin Dwyer to the stand.

               

Dwyer was assigned the investigation into Proctor’s conduct after the Norfolk DA disclosed a U.S. Attorney investigation into the same. On Tuesday, he testified that he sustained eight of the 11 allegations against Proctor. …

What he did sustain was what Proctor was fired for ahead of Read’s second trial earlier this year: that Proctor gave non-law enforcement personnel privileged information on the case, that he made disparaging remarks about a suspect to colleagues, that he brought himself and the department into disrepute and that he drank while on duty and operated his cruiser after doing so. …

Proctor’s attorney Daniel Moynihan in his own opening said that Proctor’s firing was not in proportion to previous agency disciplinary actions but only to appease politicians and critical members of the public and the media. …

“Mike Proctor was a very good trooper, an exemplary trooper,” Moynihan said, “who was made to be a scapegoat for the Mass. State Police to cave into pressure.”

He also criticized the U.S. Attorney’s offices investigative actions on civil liberties grounds, that fellow troopers were “shocked” that a federal agency could “surreptitiously” investigate a personal cell phone without permission.

He said Proctor has apologized for his behavior and that perhaps his actions do deserve some repercussions, but not termination.

All of which might make for a good argument, were it not for the fact that Proctor himself has said he wouldn't change a thing about how he and his crew handled the investigation:

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Or if Moynihan didn't make it sound like Proctor volunteered this information to the Feds who were looking into his investigation for evidence it was corrupt from the get-go:

… states he was first confronted with the messages at a federal grand jury on February 1, 2024, and immediately disclosed their existence and content to his bosses. 

Proctor met with 2 State Police lawyers and a Major the following week where he, “disclosed the existence and content of the text messages that were in the possession of the U.S. Attorney,” according to Moynihan.

I suppose it's technically true that he "self-reported" the texts to his superiors. But that was after they were in the possession of the US Department of Justice and he was forced to admit them under oath in front of a grand jury. Which is the equivalent of "self-reporting" to your wife you've been seeing your HR Director after you've gone viral grinding up on her at a Coldplay show. This was no crisis on conscience Proctor suddenly came down with. That cat was already WAY of the bag at that point.

That's the bad news for Proctor. The good news is that he and his legal team have well over a month to come up with something better, since the hearing was suspended and they'll get to present their case in October. So we'll put a pin in that and focus on the other big - and inevitable - news:

Source -  Actress Elizabeth Banks, a Massachusetts native, will reportedly star as Karen Read in an upcoming series about the recent murder trial saga, according to multiple reports.

Both Deadline and Variety reported on Wednesday that the Pittsfield native will portray Read in a limited series in development by Prime Video and Warner Bros Television. The show will reportedly be based on a popular podcast that followed the case. 

I've been saying since the beginning of all this a couple of years ago that every actor in the business capable of pulling off a Masshole accent (as opposed to half the cast of The Departed; great movie but I do a full body cringe every time Martin Sheen says, "microprawcessahs") should start practicing their Norfolk County regional dialect. With an emphasis on phrases like "Sidebah, ya honah," "Jameson and gingah," and "We called her a Babysittah with Benefits." 

So picking a local girl with some acting chops like Elizabeth Banks to play Read is as good a choice as any. She's certain got some range. From playing the hot book store clerk in 40 Year Old Virgin:

… to Hunger Games:

… to her experience directing a tour de force like Cocaine Bear:

… there's no reason to doubt she'll do the role justice. 

As a final note, if Prime Video and Warner Bros. are looking for someone to play the key roles of a lazy, disinterest Court Officer or an aging, functioning alcoholic blogger covering the two trials from his house, I have just the actor in mind. Here's his IMDb page:

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See you in the movies.