Karen Read sues Massachusetts State Police and Canton PD over corruption claims
Karen Read has filed a civil lawsuit against Mass. State Police and Canton Police, citing a "culture of bias and corruption" in her wrongful prosecution.
Karen Read files civil suit against two police forces over alleged misconduct
Karen Read's legal team has filed a civil lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department, nbcboston.com reports, alleging that a "culture of bias and corruption" within both institutions led to her wrongful prosecution in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
The suit was filed Thursday morning in Bristol County Superior Court.
Read was acquitted of O'Keefe's murder at her second trial last year. Her first trial, held the year before, had ended in a mistrial.
"This case is about two institutions — the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department — and a culture of bias and corruption that they built, tolerated, and hid from the public for years," Read's legal team said in a press release. "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."
The lawsuit names two officers central to the case. Michael Proctor, the state police lieutenant who led the investigation into O'Keefe's death, was fired last year over his handling of the Read case. During testimony at the first trial, Proctor acknowledged sending offensive texts about Read to friends, family members, and fellow troopers while the investigation was active.
Sean Goode, a former Canton police sergeant, submitted his resignation from the department a day before the lawsuit was announced, amid an ongoing internal affairs investigation into alleged misconduct. Goode had been placed on paid leave in October 2025; officials have not disclosed the nature of the allegations against him.
Read's legal team pointed to both departments' responses to the officers' conduct as evidence of institutional failure.
"The State Police knew about Proctor's prejudices and biases in February 2024 and did nothing," the press release states. "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."
"Michael Proctor and Sean Goode are not the exception. They are the evidence," the statement added.
NBC Boston said it had reached out to both the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department for comment on the lawsuit. No response had been received at the time of publication.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)