Live updates: Second day of hearings on ex-trooper Michael Proctor’s bid to get job back
Michael Proctor , the former trooper fired in connection with the Karen Read case , is appearing before the Civil Service Commission on Wednesday for the second of five days of hearings on his bid to get his job back .
Proctor has appealed his termination to the commission, which reviews "appeals filed by certain state and municipal employees...including discipline." Daniel Moynihan, a lawyer for Proctor, is continuing his cross-examination of State Police Det. Lt. Kevin Dwyer on Wednesday.
Dwyer was the lead investigator in Proctor's internal affairs case.
Follow live updates below:
11:27 a.m. - Hearing resumes
After the break, Moynihan returned to the question of whether Proctor's texts actually impacted his investigation into Read.
While Dwyer agreed there was no evidence Proctor failed to perform his duties as the case officer, he said the messages were still relevant.
"I would agree there was nothing shown his duties were affected, but I think as a police officer, your behavior is relevant to your duties," Dwyer said. The messages "affect everything he does."
10:53 a.m. - Proctor's personal feelings didn't impact Read investigation
Moynihan's questioning moved on to the actual impact of Proctor's text messages about Read.
Dwyer agreed that there was no evidence to suggest his personal feelings — Proctor called Read a "whack job [expletive]," among other insults — impacted the criminal investigation.
But he added, "my investigation did not focus on the facts of the criminal invest."
Dwyer did push back when Moynihan suggested Proctor didn't share "investigate strategy" with anyone.
"The information he shared was information he should not have shared," Dwyer said.
The questioning prompted a testy exchange with the lawyer for the State Police, leading Moynihan to say, "I know it's uncomfortable sometimes to hear the other side of the story."
Commissioner Angela McConney called a 15-minute recess around 11 a.m.
10:28 a.m. - State Police lawyer refutes no policy claim
Stephen Carley, a lawyer for the State Police, objected when Moynihan began a line of questioning on whether there was a specific policy in place governing troopers' conduct on their personal phones.
"The rules governing the conduct of members apply at all times," he said. "It's possible to violate those policies by means of a phone."
It doesn't matter if the violation happens via "email, smoke signal, personal cell phone," he said. "It doesn't matter."
The questioning is "misleading and argumentative," Carley said.
McConney ultimately allowed Moynihan to go forward.
Dwyer acknowledged there was not a specific policy "prohibiting the way you speak to friends and family on a personal cell phone."
10:17 a.m. - Proctor 'bottom of the rung' in Read case
Moynihan suggested to Dwyer that using the term "lead investigator" to describe Proctor's role in the Read case was inaccurate.
"By coining Michael Proctor the lead investigator in the Read case suggests he's in charge, right?" Moynihan asked.
But Proctor still had to answer to his supervisors on that case, and Dwyer conceded homicide investigations are often collaborative efforts. Proctor didn't have the authority to bring charges against Read or determine whether or not to charge her, Moynihan noted.
Dwyer conceded it was "human nature" to form an opinion about a suspect in a homicide investigation, and it was reasonable for an officer to express their personal opinion.
"As a police officer, there's certain things you can't share," he said.
9:30 a.m. - Hearing resumes
Moynihan's cross-examination resumed with an exchange that seemed to be aimed at laying out his claim that State Police pre-determined the outcome of the investigation into Proctor.
He noted that Dwyer submitted a draft report prior to interviewing Proctor, and a State Police prosecutor attempted to set up a Trial Board hearing for Proctor before the interview took place.
"No one told you to speed this along?" Moynihan asked. Dwyer said no one did.
In the audience of the small hearing room, Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, often shook her head after Dwyer answered a question.
Moynihan continued to press, noting it was a discretionary decision to charge Proctor with unsatisfactory performance as a Class A violation, making him eligible for termination.
Dwyer countered it was not his responsibility to decide the charges. But he conceded Suzanne Caravaggio, the department prosecutor, sent him a list of suggested charges.
"She's not suggesting to me as to how my invest should move forward," he said.
Moynihan continued to push Dwyer about his draft report, which included a placeholder section for Proctor's testimony at his interview.
"Is it fair to say Michael Proctor's termination was just a predetermination?" Moynihan asked.
"I can't speak to that," Dwyer said.
Carley objected to the questioning calling it, "badgering, irrelevant and misleading."
McConney allowed Moynihan to continue.
"Is it still your testimony, sir, that nobody told you to rush this case through?" Moynihan asked.
More coverage of Michael Proctor
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