A state trooper is investigating the death of a Boston police officer. Now, he’s accused of policy violations

The new investigation adds another layer of complexity to the Canton, Massachusetts case.

A state trooper investigating the death of a Boston police officer is now under investigation himself, authorities said Thursday, adding another layer of complexity to a case that has sharply divided a Massachusetts suburb. The Massachusetts State Police said it has opened an internal investigation into a “potential violation of department policy” against Trooper Michael Proctor, one of the lead investigators in the death of Officer John O’Keefe. It did not elaborate on what he is being investigated for. Investigators allege O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read, hit him with her SUV in the Boston suburb of Canton in January 2022 and left him outside in the snow to die. But Read’s defense team alleges that he was fatally beaten in the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer, and that Read is the victim of a coverup to protect those inside the home that night. Read has said she dropped O’Keefe outside the home shortly after midnight  — after they left a bar — then drove off to his house to sleep because she was not feeling well. O’Keefe’s body was found about six hours later outside the home. Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision. The Massachusetts State Police did not specify whether Proctor’s alleged violation is related to Read’s case. “Trooper Proctor remains on full duty,” a State Police spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Thursday.