Karen Read, acquitted of Boston cop boyfriend’s murder, files lawsuit against police departments

Filing alleges 'imbedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot'

Published Jun 04, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  2 minute read

Karen Read and John O'Keefe. FACEBOOK

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Karen Read, acquitted of her Boston police officer boyfriend’s murder last year, filed a lawsuit against two police agencies for violating her constitutional rights and causing immense harm.

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The 46-year-old Read, who was found not guilty of second-degree murder officer John O’Keefe on June 18, 2025, filed the suit against the Massachusetts State Police and Canton Police Department on Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court, ABC affiliate WCVB reports.

In the claim, Read alleges “an imbedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot” after she was acquitted in the high-profile murder trial.

She specifically named Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who was leading the investigation in the 2022 murder probe and was later fired, and Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode, who was working the night of O’Keefe’s death and testified during Read’s first trial.

The suit was filed a day after Goode issued his resignation from the police department while being investigated by an outside investigator.

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Offensive text messages revealed during trial

Thousands of text messages sent by Proctor about Read were revealed during her murder trial. They were filled with crude messages involving racial slurs and other offensive language, including one where he hoped “she kills herself” after the investigation began.

Numerous other inappropriate and antisemitic messages texted by Proctor and Goode were also cited in her lawsuit about Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

“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,” Read’s attorneys told CBS Boston.

“Proctor and Goode were unfit for positions of public trust and yet they were handed badges, promotions, and ultimately control of homicide investigations despite harbouring deep-seated and abhorrent anti-woman, racist, antisemitic, and homophobic ideologies for more than a decade.”

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On trial twice for boyfriend’s murder

Read was tried twice for O’Keefe’s murder after being accused of striking and killing him while driving an SUV after a night of drinking.

She was acquitted of all charges except operating a vehicle under the influence after a hung jury led to a mistrial two years ago in the first trial.

“As Karen Read saw firsthand, when agencies fail to ensure that those entrusted with authority are fit to exercise it, the consequences can be devastating,” her lawyers said.

“Karen Read was acquitted of every charge related to John O’Keefe’s death — and now 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.”

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