Overview
- Former Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor invoked his Fifth Amendment right and declined to testify at a Dedham hearing on Monday, preventing the defense from questioning him directly.
- Defense lawyer Rosemary Scapicchio argues years of racist and sexist messages from Proctor’s personal phone show bias that tainted the 2021 Milton murder investigation of Marquis Simmons and warrant dismissal of charges against Myles King.
- Prosecutors oppose dismissal, saying the materials were private conduct on Proctor’s personal phone and do not prove the investigation or charging decision was motivated by race.
- Judge Krupp accepted Proctor’s Fifth Amendment claim, saying he is “off the table,” and scheduled a follow-up hearing on Sept. 22 where the defense will call other witnesses to try to show investigator bias.
- The dispute raises wider questions about how personal misconduct by investigators, including Proctor’s prior firing over conduct in the Karen Read probe, should affect criminal cases and trust in state police work.