Karen Read sues Canton, Massachusetts State Police over investigation
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Karen Read, the Boston woman who was acquitted of murder in the death of her police officer boyfriend, is heading back to court after filing a new lawsuit suing the Town of Canton and the Massachusetts State Police for allegedly mishandling the investigation.
The 87-page lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, was filed Thursday morning in Bristol Superior Court and alleges “an entrenched culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures and institutional decay at the core of both organizations.”
Court documents include profane messages between the case’s former lead investigator, former police officer Michael Proctor, and former Canton Police Sgt. It alleges widespread abuse and negligence in the investigation into the 2022 deaths of Sean Goode and John O’Keefe.
“[S]According to court documents, Goode wrote in one text: “He’s a Jew… Absolutely reveals that.”
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Karen Read exits Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on June 18, 2025, after being found not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
The filing also points to messages allegedly sent by Proctor; here Read is referred to as a “retard,” “shit job c—,” and “no a–.”
In a statement to the media, attorneys Alan Jackson, Damon Seligson and Aaron Rosenberg alleged that the two law enforcement agencies encouraged “a culture of bias and corruption that they built, tolerated and hid from the public for years.”
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Karen Read kisses John O’Keefe on the side of his head in an undated photo. (Fox News Digital’s Karen Read)
“Michael Proctor and Sean Goode did not go unnoticed; they are emblematic of a failure to responsibly fulfill the public’s trust and confidence in these institutions,” the attorneys said. he added.
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Read was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges last year following a mistrial in O’Keefe’s death.
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Karen Read and her legal team address the media outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on June 18, 2025. Read was found not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham/Fox News Digital)
Prosecutors at the time alleged that Read drunkenly hit O’Keefe with his SUV and left him to freeze to death in the snowy front yard of a friend’s home in nearby Canton. However, the defense team successfully argued that Read was not responsible for O’Keefe’s death.
The development comes just days after Goode, who responded to the scene of O’Keefe’s death and testified at Read’s first trial, resigned from the Canton Police Department following an investigation into alleged misconduct. accordingly Boston 25. Authorities have not said whether the investigation is connected to Read’s case.
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In 2025, Proctor was fired from his position within the state police after text messages he sent about Read were read at his first trial.
Read also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by O’Keefe’s family and has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against multiple witnesses who testified against him in both murder cases.
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“Karen Read has been acquitted of all charges related to the death of John O’Keefe — and now the institutions that negligently allowed virulent misogynists and bigots to target her will be held accountable for what they did, what they concealed, and what they did to her,” Read’s lawyers wrote. “The days of hiding behind badges and promotions and peddling vile bigotry are over. The truth is coming, and with it comes fearless reckoning.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Town of Canton, Massachusetts State Police and Read’s attorneys for comment.
