Fired Mass. state trooper Michael Proctor will plead the Fifth, refuses to testify in case he investigated

Fired Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor was back in a Dedham courtroom Monday, for the first time since 13 years' worth of racist and sexist text messages from his personal phone were made public.

Proctor requested court permission to remain silent after he was called as a witness in the case against Myles King, who is accused of a 2021 Milton murder. Proctor investigated the case. 

King's defense attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, has asked a judge to dismiss the case against King because she alleges Proctor's racism infected the investigation.

"You can't leave this type of explicit racism at the front door when you walk in to do your job; you can't do it," Scapicchio told reporters outside the courthouse. "If you're a racist, you're a racist, through and through, and he's proved he's a racist through and through. So, what are we doing here? Why isn't that enough to dismiss a criminal case?"

In their opposition to her motion to dismiss, prosecutors said, "the materials in Proctor's personal phone are not government conduct … " and that the case shouldn't be dismissed "because the defendant has not shown that … the investigation charging him with murder was motivated by race."

Scapicchio planned to call Proctor to testify at a hearing for her motion to dismiss the case. Proctor attended a hearing on Monday with his attorney, and in a private sidebar conference with the judge, requested that he be able to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

The Fifth Amendment gives Proctor the right to remain silent to shield himself from potential criminal liability. Even Scapicchio won't know what the alleged liability may be for Proctor, since the request is only between Proctor, his lawyer, and the judge.

The judge found Proctor's request was valid. "Proctor is off the table," Judge Krupp told lawyers while planning next steps. Scapicchio will now argue that King's case should be dismissed by calling other witnesses in a Sept. 22 hearing. 

When questioned outside court, Proctor's lawyer said he had "no comment."