Michael Proctor asks court to reschedule his deposition in Karen Read lawsuit that alleged racist texts
One day after racist text messages allegedly found on the personal phone of former state trooper Michael Proctor were revealed in a lawsuit filed by Karen Read, Proctor requested that a deposition he previously committed to be rescheduled.
On Thursday, Read sued Massachusetts State Police and Canton Police for negligence. In the suit, her lawyers listed dozens of racist and sexist text messages allegedly sent between former trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police officer Sean Goode.
In a separate case, a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Karen Read filed by the family of John O'Keefe, Proctor is now asking for an accommodation.
Proctor is a witness in the wrongful death case, and was set to be deposed by Karen Read's attorneys on Monday, June 8. Read's lawyer, Alan Jackson, told WBZ's Kristina Rex that he would be in Boston starting Friday, June 5.
According to an emergency motion filed in Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, June 5, "due to personal circumstances, Mr. Proctor has also been unavailable for deposition preparation."
"This is a scheduling dispute-not an outright refusal to produce the discovery sought by Ms. Read," the motion reads. "Ms. Read has litigated this case extensively in the media."
The motion alleges that Proctor's attorneys requested a schedule change for his depositon recently due to "personal circumstances" and an inability to adequately prepare, and that Read's attorneys refused.
Proctor is now asking the judge to intervene ahead of his deposition on Monday.
There will be a hearing to discuss the emergency order on Monday, June 8, at 8:45 AM via Zoom. Proctor's lawyers are expected to provide information about when they learned he wouldn't be available to prepare, when Read's lawyers were informed, and why deposition prep couldn't take place over the weekend.
