Karen Read sues police after acquittal in boyfriend's murder
Karen Read found not guilty of murder, manslaughter
Fox News multimedia reporter Kailey Schuyler and attorney Jeremy Rosenthal join LiveNOW's Andy Mac to react to the not guilty verdict in the Karen Read retrial.
Karen Read, the woman found not guilty of murdering her police officer boyfriend following a high-profile trial, has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging misconduct and negligence.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday, a year after she walked out of court a free woman.
Karen Read’s lawsuit
What they're saying:
The lawsuit accuses police and officials of "an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations."
It alleges that the town and the police department were negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of officers and seeks damages for legal fees, lost income, emotional distress and reputational harm, among other claims.
Karen Read and Alan Jackson greet her supporters after she is acquitted on many of the charges against her on June 18. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
The complaint devotes dozens of pages to former state trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode, citing texts, recordings and other communications that it says demonstrate racist, sexist and other derogatory remarks. Read’s lawyers argue that those materials show both men were unfit to participate in the investigation and that their conduct reflected broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement.
Dig deeper:
The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was fired and became a central figure for Read supporters who believe the investigation was tainted.
Goode was placed on leave in November 2025 and resigned earlier this week, according to reports.
The other side:
Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble issued a response Thursday, calling Proctor’s messages "racist, sexist and abhorrent." He said it’s one of the reasons Proctor was fired. Noble also said the investigation happened before he became superintendent, and pointed to changes made under his command.
"These disturbing messages are entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency and certainly with the expectations of a Massachusetts State Trooper," Noble said, adding that agency officials are, "keenly aware of the ways in which this misconduct harmed the public trust on which our mission depends."
The town of Canton and the Canton Police Department did not respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment.
The case of Karen Read
The backstory:
In 2022, prosecutors accused Read of backing her SUV into her boyfriend John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, after dropping him off at a party in a Boston suburb, then leaving him to die in a blizzard. Defense attorneys said she was a victim of a conspiracy involving the police, and claimed they had evidence that O’Keefe’s colleagues killed him and covered it up.
Was Karen Read framed for her boyfriend's murder?
Was Karen Read framed for murdering her cop boyfriend, with police covering for each other? Is this case the biggest one since O.J. Simpson?
Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence and leaving the scene. Her first trial ended in a mistrial. In 2025, after a high-profile second trial that lasted more than a month, a jury found Read not guilty on every charge except operating under the influence. She was sentenced to one-year probation, the standard for a first-time DUI offense.
The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.
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