BOSTON (WHDH) – When Colonel Geoffrey Noble took command 10 months ago, the Massachusetts state police were facing difficult questions.
Disgraced former trooper Michael Proctor, lead investigator in the Karen Read murder trial, was under fire for sending vulgar text messages about Read to friends and sharing details of the case with family.
Proctor was eventually fired for not following department protocol.
“I think the actions that this department have taken that, that I’ve taken since I’ve been here, speak to where I stand on the actions specifically of Trooper Proctor,” said Noble.
“He’s now obviously not a trooper anymore, but there [was] so much skepticism around the case. How do you, as colonel, try to restore trust in the public and knowing that investigations and your investigators, when they’re out there investigating crime, are following the standards?”
“Will I sit here and say that this is a perfect organization? Of course not. I, I don’t know any organization that is. Will continue, um, to message to the public how we train our troopers, what the training is, how we put them through, measurements to ensure, internally that they’re meeting our standards,” Noble said.
Noble says supervisors are now more involved in investigations. That’s a change meant to prevent the kinds of concerns raised in the Karen Read case.
“I’m very confident right now that as we move forward, the state police is positioned very well to ensure that we’re, um, that we are delivering the services that are expected,” Noble said.
“The skepticism is so strong with the investigation piece of it and obviously the way evidence was collected and all of the things. Is there anything else that you want to say to the public to reassure them that if there’s a crime in their neighborhood and investigators have to go out and collect evidence and just do the basics of the job and that it will be done correctly?”
“No troopers in this job are, are…