The Massachusetts State Police will pay Karen Read a six-figure settlement to resolve her lawsuit against the agency after she was acquitted of murdering her police officer boyfriend in a high-profile trial last year.
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she → pay → trial
Read, who will be paid $100,000, was found not guilty in June 2025 of the second-degree murder of her boyfriend, 46-year-old Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
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who → pay → boyfriend
She and O'Keefe had been drinking heavily on January 29, 2022, before she dropped him off at a party at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert, according to prosecutors.
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she → drink → prosecutors
Prosecutors claimed that Read, 46, hit O'Keefe with her SUV before driving away and leaving him to die, but the defense successfully argued that the police officer was killed inside the home and then dragged outside.
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officer → claim → home
Read filed a civil lawsuit in Bristol County Superior Court against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton on June 4 of this year, alleging misconduct and negligence in the investigation that led to her prosecution in O'Keefe's death.
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that → file → death
She claimed that former state trooper Michael Proctor, also the lead investigator in Read's murder case, had sent dozens of racist and bigoted text messages revealing 'an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot' within the police force.
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Proctor → claim → force
State police said the settlement would 'avoid prolonged litigation and the significant costs to taxpayers of continuing the case,' according to the Washington Post.
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settlement → say → Post
Since Read's claims were brought under Massachusetts's Tort Claims Act, $100,000 was the maximum amount of money she could recover.
The Massachusetts State Police agreed to pay Karen Read $100,000 as part of a settlement in a civil lawsuit where she claimed the police force had 'an embedded culture of bigotry'
Prosecutors claimed Read, 46, hit O'Keefe with her SUV before driving away on the night he died in January 2022
However, Read did 'not agree or admit' that she only suffered $100,000 in damages from the alleged misconduct in legal filings, Boston.com reported.
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Boston.com → bring → filings
Read is also still 'pursuing similar claims and related relief in other venues,' per the reported filings.
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Read → pursue → filings
The settlement agreement that would award Read the $100,000 still requires a judge's approval.
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that → award → approval
The claims against Canton in her lawsuit are still active, according to the outlet.
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claims → accord → outlet
Read's suit alleged that Proctor and former Canton police Sgt Sean Goode, who responded to the crime scene, had repeatedly exchanged vile and antisemitic messages.
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who → allege → messages
Proctor allegedly called Read a 'whack job' and wrote that he hoped she would kill herself, per the reported lawsuit.
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she → call → lawsuit
He also allegedly once said that 'Hitler was really on to something' and used the n-word, the suit continued.
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suit → say → word
State police fired Proctor, who had been suspended without pay, in March 2025.
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who → fire → March
Read alleged that former state trooper Michael Proctor (pictured in June 2024) repeatedly sent vile text messages about her, but also including racist and antisemitic remarks
Proctor's termination order said he 'sent derogatory, defamatory, disparaging, and/or otherwise inappropriate text messages' about Read, according to the Boston Globe.
He also 'created an image that he was biased in his dealings with a homicide suspect and/or brought otherwise himself and the Massachusetts State Police into disrepute' in doing so, per the reported order.
The Massachusetts State Police said in a filing on November 2 that it unequivocally condemned the 'racist, sexist, and abhorrent messages quoted in the complaint, which do not reflect the values of the Massachusetts State Police and are not tolerated within its ranks,' according to Boston25News.
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which → allege → Boston25News
Proctor had claimed that 'these juvenile, unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts, the evidence and the integrity of the investigation.'
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comments → claim → investigation
Read was acquitted of her boyfriend's murder but found guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving last year.
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Read → acquit → driving
A second-degree murder conviction would have carried a life sentence for Read.
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conviction → carry → Read
She had also been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene.
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She → charge → scene
Read was found not guilty almost one year after a separate jury deadlocked over O'Keefe's death and resulting in her first trial being declared a mistrial
Commonwealth of Massachusetts medical examiner Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello testified that O'Keefe's cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia
That verdict came almost one year after a separate jury deadlocked on July 1, 2024, over O'Keefe's death, resulting in a mistrial being declared.
O'Keefe's cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia, according to Commonwealth of Massachusetts medical examiner Dr Irini Scordi-Bello.
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cause → find → Bello
Scordi-Bello previously testified that she did not have the information to determine whether his injuries were accidental.
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injuries → testify → information
Though a settlement has now been reached in this case, there are still multiple civil actions pending in relation to O'Keefe's death.
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settlement → reach → death
His family has filed a wrongful death suit against Read, and she has filed a federal suit against civilian witnesses and investigators for allegedly colluding to frame her.
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she → file → her
Four witnesses also filed a defamation lawsuit against Read in April in a case that remains open.
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that → file → case
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Massachusetts State Police and Aaron Rosenberg, an attorney for Read, for further comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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