Days after the jury cleared Karen Read of murder and manslaughter, a state police union is fighting back against accusations that the investigation into John O’Keefe’s death was “compromised.”
The State Police Association of Massachusetts, made up of all Troopers and Sergeants in the State Police, has broken its silence after the jury in the lengthy retrial convicted Read of just operating under the influence, the least serious charge.
“As our current and former members continue to be the subjects of baseless accusations,” the state police union stated in a social media post on Saturday, “it is important to remember that the investigation into the death of John O’Keefe has been investigated with great scrutiny by both members of the State Police Internal Affairs and the FBI.
“To date, there has yet to be any information that this investigation was compromised in any way,” it added.
Prosecutors accused Read of backing up into O’Keefe, her Boston Police officer boyfriend of two years, with her SUV, leaving him to freeze and die on the front yard of a Canton home where the pair was supposed to continue a night out after the bars closed, in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
The jury didn’t buy the argument. Jurors who have spoken to the media after the verdict came out on Wednesday have highlighted that they assume O’Keefe went inside the home at 34 Fairview Road during a blizzard.
The defense has argued that others possibly killed O’Keefe inside that home and that the police were either too incompetent or corrupt to investigate that angle.
A Massachusetts State Police board fired Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in O’Keefe’s death, over inappropriate behavior and self-described “inappropriate” and “regrettable” text messages about Read revealed during the first trial.
Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, Proctor’s supervisor, and Bukhenik’s boss, Lt. Brian Tully, were also placed under internal investigation at one point in the aftermath of last year’s mistrial.
“The Association continues to send its sincere condolences to the family of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe,” the union stated in its social media post. “The jury has spoken, and we remain respectful of the process.”
“However, since the beginning of this trial there have been numerous attacks and accusations against our Troopers and Sergeants,” it added. “Careers have been lost, families have been devastated, and many lives have been changed forever.”
In a statement on Thursday, MSP Col. Geoffrey Noble vowed to continue reforming the embattled agency that Gov. Maura Healey appointed him to lead last fall.
“The events of the last three years have challenged our Department to thoroughly review our actions and take concrete steps to deliver advanced investigative training, ensure appropriate oversight, and enhance accountability,” Noble wrote.
His efforts include terminating Proctor, providing MSP members additional training and enhancing supervision, the agency says.
When asked about how the governor is assisting the State Police with its reforms on Saturday, a spokesperson for her office referred the Herald to Noble’s statement and comments Healey made a day before about the Read verdict.
“The trial ran its course,” Healey told reporters on Friday. “I always reflect on the family of John O’Keefe and feel very sorry for them. The criminal justice system has run its course, and there is finality in that. My best to members of the O’Keefe family.”
A reporter asked the governor about whether Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey should have said more following the verdict than his four-word statement: “The jury has spoken.”
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Healey said. “The criminal justice process has been resolved. Again, I extend my condolences to the O’Keefe family and hope that they can find an inner resolution and move on.”
The governor walked away after being asked, “Is there still an unsolved murder to investigate?”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kenneally told the Herald that he looks forward to working with State Police in “seeing those (reforms) through” if elected governor in 2026.
“Public trust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system is paramount,” he said Saturday.
Only 4% of 1,170 Norfolk County residents who met the qualifications to be selected as jurors and responded to a post-verdict survey believe that the investigation into O’Keefe’s death was “full, thorough, and fair,” according to Opinion Diagnostics, a Massachusetts-based polling and market research firm.
Proctor has also come forward, speaking out against the idea that he framed Read. In an interview with NBC’s “Dateline” aired post-verdict, the disgraced trooper called the accusation that he cracked Read’s taillight to make it look like she backed into O’Keefe “ridiculous.”
Proctor also said that the text messages that led to his downfall do not represent him as a whole or his investigation and that he is “fighting” to get his job back through the appeals process.
“I’ve never had a single complaint,” Proctor told Dateline. “I’ve never been the subject of any disciplinary actions. All my employee evaluations are either outstanding or excellent. And I still love the job. I still want to be a trooper.”
Juror #11, Walpole mother Paula Prado, who has made her media rounds after the verdict, shared her opinions on Proctor during an interview on the Howie Carr Show on Friday.
“I saw the text messages, unprofessional, of course,” she said. “Immature, horrifying. … I am glad he is fired.”
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2025-06-22 04:33:43
