An independent audit of the Canton Police Department commissioned amid the backlash over how it handled the investigation into Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe‘s death and the Sandra Birchmore case was released Tuesday. The audit began last year and was conducted by the investigative firm 5...
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Canton police audit released: Full 200-page report, analysis and reaction
An independent audit of the Canton Police Department commissioned amid the backlash over how it handled the investigation into Boston Police Officer
John O'Keefe's death and the
Sandra Birchmore case was released Tuesday.
The audit began last year and
was conducted by the investigative firm 5 Stones Intelligence at a cost of just under $200,000.
Prosecutors accused
Karen Read of killing O'Keefe, her boyfriend, and leaving him to die in the snow in January of 2022. Read argued she was framed in a wide-ranging coverup, and the actions of law enforcement — including members of the
Canton Police Department and the
Massachusetts State Police — have been heavily scrutinized since the onset of her trial.
The murder trial against Read ended with a hung jury over the summer, and her second trial got underway Tuesday morning in Norfolk Superior Court.
Some of the key observations and findings about the O'Keefe case included in the report were:
- First responding officers should have photographed O'Keefe at the location of where he was found before fire and rescue moved him to the ambulance.
- All interviews of critical witnesses, including Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts, should have been conducted at the Canton Police Department on Jan. 29, 2022, after John O'Keefe was transported to the hospital.
- Consensual recorded witness interviews should have been conducted.
- Massachusetts State Police, along with Canton police, should have maintained a police presence at 34 Fairview Road pending the secondary search conducted by state police crime scene units.
- All video footage maintained on Canton police computer systems of Karen Read's Lexus SUV while it was housed at the Canton Police Department from Jan. 29 through Feb. 2, 2022, should have been requested and turned over early in the Karen Read case to lead investigators for any action as deemed appropriate.
FULL REPORT AVAILABLE AT LINK
