UMVA has learned that Karen Read, the Boston woman acquitted of murder in the death of her police officer boyfriend, is taking a bold step back into the courtroom by filing a scathing new lawsuit against the Town of Canton and the Massachusetts State Police.
The lawsuit, a comprehensive 87-page document, alleges a deeply ingrained culture of bigotry, misogyny, and systemic failures within both organizations, which Read's attorneys claim led to the mishandling of the investigation into the 2022 death of John O'Keefe. Court documents reveal a shocking series of expletive-laced messages exchanged between former lead investigator Michael Proctor and former Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode.
One particularly damning text message, highlighted in the lawsuit, shows Goode writing, "[S]he's a jew…so def puts out." This incendiary remark is just one example of the alleged widespread misconduct and negligence that Read's attorneys claim tainted the probe into O'Keefe's death.
Read's attorneys have released a statement asserting that the Town of Canton and the Massachusetts State Police fostered "a culture of bias and corruption that they built, tolerated, and hid from the public for years." They argue that Proctor and Goode are emblematic of a broader failure within these institutions to responsibly exercise the public's trust.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of Read's acquittal last year, following a mistrial in the death of O'Keefe. Prosecutors had alleged that Read drunkenly struck O'Keefe with her SUV and left him to freeze to death, but her defense team successfully argued that she was not responsible for his death.
In a related development, Sean Goode has resigned from the Canton Police Department amid an investigation into alleged misconduct, which may be connected to Read's case. Michael Proctor was fired from his position within the state police in 2025 after his text messages were read in Read's first trial.
Read is also facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by O'Keefe's family and has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against multiple witnesses who testified against her. Her attorneys are now vowing to hold the Town of Canton and the Massachusetts State Police accountable for their alleged actions.
"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," Read's attorneys assert. "The days of hiding behind badges and promotions while peddling vile bigotry are over."
