Karen Read is suing the Canton, Massachusetts State Police for the investigation
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Karen Read, the Boston woman convicted of manslaughter in the death of her police officer boyfriend, is back in court after filing a new lawsuit against the city of Canton and Massachusetts state police over alleged mishandling of the investigation.
The 87-page lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital was filed in Bristol Superior Court Thursday morning and alleges “an entrenched culture of racism, misogyny, systemic failure, and institutional decay at the core of both organizations.”
Court documents include a series of text messages exchanged between the former lead investigator in the case, former Trooper Michael Proctor, and former Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode, and alleges widespread misconduct and negligence surrounding the investigation into the death of John O’Keefe in 2022.
“[S]he is Jewish…therefore he is in denial,” Goode wrote in one text, according to court documents.
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Karen Read leaves Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., June 18, 2025, after being found not guilty of murdering her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham of Fox News Digital)
The filing also points to text messages allegedly sent by Proctor, in which he called Read a “job of no use,” “hard work c—,” “and a–.”
In a press release, attorneys Alan Jackson, Damon Seligson, and Aaron Rosenberg alleged that the two law enforcement agencies are promoting “a culture of bias and corruption that has been created, tolerated, and hidden 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. (Karen Read for Fox News Digital)
“Michael Proctor and Sean Goode did not deviate; they are a sign of failure to properly exercise the trust and faith the public places in these institutions,” added the lawyers.
KAREN LEARNED ‘COMMITTED THIS CRIME,’ JURY FOREMAN SAYS AFTER ACQUITTING HER OF MURDER: REPORT
Read was convicted of manslaughter and manslaughter last year following a trial over O’Keefe’s death.
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Karen Read and her legal team speak to the media outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., June 18, 2025. Read was found not guilty of murdering her boyfriend John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham/Fox News Digital)
At the time, prosecutors said Read drunkenly hit O’Keefe in his SUV and left him frozen to death in the snowy front yard of a friend’s home in nearby Canton. However, his defense team successfully argued that Read was not responsible for O’Keefe’s death.
The development comes days after Goode, who responded to the scene of O’Keefe’s death and testified in Read’s first trial, resigned from the Canton Police Department following an investigation into alleged misconduct, according to Boston 25. Authorities have not disclosed whether the investigation is related to Read’s case.
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In 2025, Proctor was fired from his position with the state police after his text messages about Read were read at his first trial.
Read is facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by O’Keefe’s family, and has filed a civil rights lawsuit against several witnesses who testified against him in both murders.
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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 allowed cruel and evil people to target her will answer for what they created, concealed, and did to her,” Read’s lawyers wrote. “Gone are the days of hiding behind badges and promotions while peddling ugly bigotry. The truth is coming, and an unwavering reckoning.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Town of Canton, Massachusetts State Police and Read’s attorneys for comment.
