Karen Read lawsuit alleges history of disturbing texts between Michael Proctor, Sean Goode

Key Points:

• Karen Read filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts State Police and Canton Police revealing disturbing text messages between former officers Michael Proctor and Sean Goode containing racial slurs, sexist remarks, and offensive content dating back to 2013.
• Proctor, the lead investigator in Read's case, was fired in March 2025 after messages surfaced during her trial, including one where he wished harm upon her; Goode resigned amid an internal investigation into the texts.
• The messages were obtained during the prosecution of Myles King, where Proctor was also lead investigator; Read's attorneys successfully gained court permission to use the texts in their lawsuit against the police departments.
• The lawsuit alleges both departments knew or should have known about Proctor and Goode's biases and retained officers unfit to investigate crimes, citing the officers' racist, sexist, and vulgar language and attitudes toward women and minorities.
• Massachusetts State Police condemned the messages and supported Proctor's termination, while Canton Police and the Norfolk County District Attorney's office have not commented on the lawsuit.