BOSTON, MA — Karen Read says her latest lawsuit is meant to expose what she calls corruption, bigotry and misogyny inside two Massachusetts police departments.
She filed the case Thursday against the Massachusetts State Police and the Town of Canton Police Department, nearly a year after a jury acquitted her of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
Lawsuit targets former officers and allegedly biased messages
The complaint names former Massachusetts State Police Officer Michael Proctor and former Canton Police Officer Sean Goode, both of whom played major roles in the investigation.
It says the departments hired “virulent bigots” and includes text messages that the suit says show racist, antisemitic, sexist and anti-LGBTQ views.
Among the messages cited in the filing is one allegedly from Proctor saying, “America sucks…Hitler was really on to something,” followed by an expletive about the United States.
Read says the messages show investigators could not be impartial
In an interview with ABC News, Read said the messages reflect more than offensive language. She argued they reveal how the officers thought about women and people who were not white American men.
One of her lawyers, Charles Waters, said the defense uncovered 13,000 “messages of bias.” Another attorney, Alan Jackson, said the case shows a level of comfort with bias inside both agencies that “cannot stand.”
Read said she wants to turn the pain of the case into something constructive and called the lawsuit a “crusade” to make that happen.
State police and Canton defend their response to the allegations
Massachusetts State Police called the messages “disturbing” and said they do not reflect the standards of the department. Col. Geoffrey Noble said the comments supported his decision to terminate Proctor.
Canton said it placed Goode on administrative leave, launched an internal investigation, and brought in an outside investigator after the district attorney’s office alerted the town in October 2025 to the alleged messages.
The town also said it began termination proceedings for Goode, but he resigned before the process was completed.
Proctor rejects claims he framed Read in the murder investigation
Proctor’s attorney told ABC News that attention on Proctor’s personal messages distracts from Read’s own conduct on the night O’Keefe died.
Proctor previously told ABC News in June 2025 that he regretted the texts and should not have shared his emotions about the case with friends. He denied fabricating evidence.
Goode testified at trial that he stood by his investigation, and he did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the lawsuit.
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