Karen Read, a woman from Massachusetts, gained attention after being acquitted of killing her police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe. Her case involved two highly publicized murder trials. Recently, she spoke about why she decided to file a lawsuit alleging misconduct and negligence in the investigation leading to her prosecution. Speaking on ‘TODAY’ with her attorneys, Read stated, “This was always our plan. I had to save my own life first. I need to continue fighting for justice. The acquittal is deserved, but the wrongs have not been completely righted.”
Read filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton. She alleged misconduct and negligence during the investigation into O’Keefe’s death in 2022. Her attorneys argue an ingrained culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional decay existed within the agencies investigating O’Keefe’s death, including the State Police and Canton Police Department.
The lawsuit follows Read’s acquittal last June of charges including second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal collision. She was only convicted of operating under the influence of liquor. A hung jury ended the first trial less than a year before her acquittal.
Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, explained that the lawsuit’s aim is to expose institutional biases and corruption within Massachusetts law enforcement. “The law speaks in dollars, but that’s not what the ultimate goal is here,” Jackson said on ‘TODAY.’ “What Karen wants, you cannot quantify with a check, which is exposure. Exposure of the corruption ingrained in the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department.” He highlighted text messages between officers as evidence.
Canton officials responded to the lawsuit by rejecting broad characterizations of their police officers. They noted progress in implementing audit findings critical of how officers handled Read’s case. Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble condemned the derogatory text messages noted in Read’s lawsuit. He called the messages entirely inconsistent with decency standards and not reflective of their values.
John O’Keefe, 46, died from blunt force trauma to the head with hypothermia as a contributing factor. Prosecutors claimed that Read reversed her SUV into O’Keefe while intoxicated and left him unattended. There was no video of the alleged collision. Witnesses did not observe the incident, but prosecutors used vehicle data and expert testimony.
Her attorneys shifted blame to others for O’Keefe’s death, including now-retired police sergeant Brian Albert, who hosted the gathering. They asserted Read was the victim of a biased investigation. During the first trial, attorneys alleged Albert and others killed O’Keefe during a fight, but they couldn’t label the group as suspects in the second trial. Read filed a lawsuit accusing them of a cover-up post-acquittal. Albert and others called the claims false and without merit, filing a defamation suit against Read.
Read’s attorneys also accused former state trooper Michael Proctor of investigation bias. Text messages presented during trials indicated Proctor made derogatory statements about Read and shared investigation details with non-law enforcement individuals. Proctor, who admitted to unprofessional behavior, denied biased investigation claims and was discharged dishonorably afterward.
Read mentioned her focus remains on her case since the trials, foregoing work. She expressed a desire for closure but continues fighting for O’Keefe who she remembered as kind and shy. “He’s not lost; he’s the reason we are doing this,” Read said.