Boston, Mass. — Karen Read has filed a civil lawsuit in Bristol County Superior Court against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging misconduct, negligence, and systemic bias in the investigation that led to her prosecution for the death of her boyfriend, longtime Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
Read’s suit follows her acquittal last June, which she claims exposed an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, and institutional rot within both the state police and the town police department. The complaint alleges that the town and the Canton Police Department were negligent in hiring, training, and supervising officers.
The town of Canton and the Canton Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Read walked out of the court as a free woman after more than three years and two trials regarding O’Keefe’s death, which occurred on the lawn of a fellow officer’s home during a night of heavy drinking amid a snowstorm.
She was charged with second‑degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene. The jury ultimately convicted her of a lesser charge, drunken driving.
Prosecutors argued that Read’s SUV struck O’Keefe on the January 2022 night of the party, leaving him to die in a blizzard. Her attorneys defend her by alleging police misconduct, including a theory that O’Keefe was killed by fellow officers who then covered it up.
A key part of the trial centered on lead investigator Michael Proctor, whom Read’s defense attorneys say was biased against her from the beginning. The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation and subsequently fired him, sparking backlash from Read supporters who see him as instrumental in a cover‑up.
The complaint devotes extensive pages to Proctor and former Canton police Sergeant Sean Goode, citing texts, recordings, and other communications that illustrate racist, sexist, and other derogatory remarks. Read argues that these materials show both men were unfit to lead the investigation and that their conduct reflects broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement officials.
Goode was placed on leave in November 2025 after allegations of misconduct surfaced. He resigned earlier this week, according to news reports.
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