'Days of hiding behind badges over': Karen Read suing Mass. State Police, Canton Police Department

Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, is suing the Massachusetts State Police Department and the Canton Police Department.Read's defense team filed a complaint Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court, claiming the agencies that "negligently permitted virulent misogynists and bigots to target her will answer for what they built, what they concealed and what they did to her." "The days of hiding behind badges and promotions while peddling vile bigotry are over. The truth is coming, and with it an unflinching reckoning," her defense team said in a statement.Read was found not guilty of murder last summer after her second high-profile trial in the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe, but guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving. O'Keefe was found dead during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022. Read's lawsuit alleges the lead investigator in her case, former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, has a history of making offensive remarks about women, Black people, Asian people, gay people and Jewish people.One example cited in the lawsuit is a text exchange in which Proctor discussed a motor vehicle crash he had witnessed."Four car accident. Get on it. Actually, take your time. I saw a (expletive) was involved. So I wouldn't rush, if you're working. Let them die," the text read, according to the lawsuit.Proctor was fired in March 2025 and later had his law enforcement certification suspended by the POST Commission.A three-member trial board found Proctor guilty of violating four department policies, including sending insulting text messages about Karen Read, sharing sensitive information about Read's case with people from outside law enforcement, creating an image of being biased against Read and drinking while on duty in connection with an unrelated cold case.On Wednesday, Canton Police Department Sgt. Sean Goode, who testified in Read's first trial, resigned after he was accused of misconduct and placed on leave."Michael Proctor and Sean Goode did not slip through the cracks; they are emblematic of the failure to responsibly exercise the trust and faith the public puts in these institutions. Proctor and Goode were unfit for positions of public trust and yet they were handed badges, promotions, and ultimately control of homicide investigations despite harboring deep-seated and abhorrent anti-woman, racist, antisemitic, and homophobic ideologies for more than a decade," the statement said.Read's attorneys allege the state police knew about Proctor's "prejudices and biases" and did nothing. "Canton reviewed Goode's vile messages last year and never terminated him. Rather, Canton allowed Goode to keep his rank until he chose to resign two days ago, on the eve of this lawsuit. That is the culture of these two institutions," her attorneys said. Massachusetts State Police, Town of Canton react Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble released a statement saying Proctor's "disturbing messages are entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency and certainly with the expectations of a Massachusetts State Trooper.""These racist, sexist and abhorrent comments absolutely do not reflect the values of the Massachusetts State Police and are not tolerated within our ranks. They underscore and fully support my decision to terminate Michael Proctor," Noble said. "As superintendent, my role requires me to act in the best interest of the department. In this moment, that means moving forward with a focus on upholding our standards, strengthening accountability, and supporting the honorable women and men of the State Police who serve our communities with professionalism and integrity. We do so keenly aware of the ways in which this misconduct harmed the public trust on which our mission depends.”The town of Canton said it learned of the lawsuit from a press release and the media. "Town Counsel had previously attempted to communicate with Read’s legal team as to the status of her claim, but received no response at the conclusion of the notice period," the town said in a statement. "The Town has not been served, and as such we have nothing to review with legal counsel at this time. We have no comment on the press release issued by the Read legal team."The statement continued, "The Town of Canton has the utmost faith and confidence in the new leadership of Canton Police Department under Chief Michael Daniels, and we would refute any broad stroke characterizations about the brave and dedicated men and women who serve in the Department."Civil Lawsuits ContinueFour witnesses who testified during Read's murder trials are accusing her and Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as "Turtleboy," of defamation. Jennifer McCabe, Brian Albert, Colin Albert, and Brian Higgins allege in their new lawsuit that Read and Kearney "orchestrated a coordinated campaign" to implicate them in the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe. None of them was ever charged in connection with his death. Read is also being sued by the O'Keefe family and is pursuing her own case, alleging that others were responsible for O'Keefe's death and a subsequent cover-up.Kearney was a vocal advocate for Read's claims, and prosecutors alleged that the two communicated about the case, sometimes through third parties. Kearney still faces witness intimidation cases stemming from the events.