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Karen Read Files Civil Lawsuit Against Massachusetts State and Canton Police Departments
BOSTON — Karen Read has filed an explosive civil lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging that the initial investigation into the death of her boyfriend exposed a deep-seated culture of bigotry, misogyny, and institutional rot. The civil complaint, filed Thursday morning in Bristol County Superior Court, follows Read's high-profile acquittal last June in the murder of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe.
The comprehensive lawsuit centers heavily on dozens of pages of previously unreleased text messages and recorded voicemails exchanged between former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton Police Sergeant Sean Goode. The documented communications date back to 2013 and 2014, long before Read was ever accused of striking O'Keefe with her vehicle during a 2022 blizzard.
According to the legal filings, the communications contain heavily graphic language and explicit slurs targeting minority communities and women. In one message detailed in the lawsuit, Proctor notified Goode of a serious four-car traffic accident on Route 138 in Canton near Dan Road. Upon realizing a Black motorist was involved, Proctor allegedly instructed Goode to take his time and not to rush to the scene, adding that if he was working, he should let them die.
Proctor served as the primary investigator in the O'Keefe case but was subsequently terminated by the Massachusetts State Police after separate inappropriate texts regarding Read surfaced during her initial criminal trial. Goode, who testified during that same trial, officially resigned from the Canton Police Department on Tuesday amid an active internal affairs investigation into his conduct.
Read's legal team argues that the continuous, decade-long exchange of discriminatory messages proves both men were fundamentally unfit to manage homicide investigations or hold positions of public trust. The lawsuit claims that both departments exhibited severe negligence in their hiring, training, and supervision practices by permitting a toxic internal culture to persist unchecked.
In response to the lawsuit, Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Colonel Geoffrey Noble issued a public statement condemning the messages as abhorrent and entirely inconsistent with basic standards of decency. Noble功 reiterated that such remarks do not reflect the values of the state police and fully supported the prior decision to terminate Proctor.
Legal analysts note that while the newly exposed communications are deeply troubling, Read faces a significant burden of proof to secure a civil victory for financial damages. Legal experts emphasize that to demonstrate actionable harm caused by law enforcement, Read must prove that she should never have been criminally charged. Because the baseline legal standard required to establish probable cause for an initial arrest or indictment is relatively low, securing a favorable civil judgment against the municipal agencies remains a complex legal challenge.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
June 4, 2026
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