Karen Read sues police over alleged misconduct in boyfriend's death investigation

Karen Read has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging misconduct and negligence in the investigation surrounding the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. The suit, filed in Bristol County Superior Court, asserts that Read's acquittal last June exposed deep-seated issues within both organizations, including bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional corruption.

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racist, sexist and abhorrent

The complaint details allegations of negligence in hiring, training, and supervision of officers. Read seeks damages for legal fees, lost income, emotional distress, and reputational harm. The lawsuit incorporates numerous text messages, recordings, and other communications attributed to former state trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police sergeant Sean Goode. These include messages where Proctor allegedly referred to Read as a "whack job" and expressed hope for her suicide.

Further cited in the lawsuit are messages containing racial slurs and a comment by Proctor suggesting approval of Hitler's actions. Read's legal team argues these communications demonstrate the unfitness of Proctor and Goode for the investigation and reflect broader oversight failures by law enforcement agencies. They successfully argued during Read's trial that a pattern of police misconduct occurred, proposing that O'Keefe was killed by colleagues who orchestrated a cover-up.

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These disturbing messages are entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency and certainly with the expectations of a Massachusetts state trooper.

In response, State Police Superintendent Colonel Geoffrey Noble condemned Proctor's messages as "racist, sexist and abhorrent," supporting his decision to terminate the former trooper. Noble stated these comments do not represent the department's values and highlighted recent changes implemented during his tenure, noting the investigation predated his leadership. He acknowledged the misconduct's damage to public trust. The town of Canton stated it had not yet been served with the complaint, learning of the lawsuit through news reports. Canton officials expressed full confidence in Police Chief Michael Daniels and disputed the lawsuit's broad characterizations of their officers, noting the department has implemented recommendations from an external audit and is undergoing modernization.

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These disturbing messages are entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency and certainly with the expectations of a Massachusetts state trooper.