Kenneth Berkowitz, who led the Canton Police at the time Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe died and the subsequent investigation into suspected killer Karen Read, has died.

Berkowitz died Saturday, according to a death notice posted by the Newton-based Brezniak Funeral Directors. His age was not listed in the obituary.

The family asks that remembrances be made to the charity Cops For Kids With Cancer, PO Box 850956, Braintree, MA 02185. The charity’s president is listed as Berkowitz’s successor as Canton Police chief, Helena Rafferty.

Berkowitz’s long career at the CPD, which he joined in 1992 as a patrolman, according to a biography once posted on the department’s website, has come to be defined by the Read case, for many observers.

He retired in June 2022, the same month that Mansfield financial analyst and college lecturer Karen Read was indicted for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

At the time of the indictment, the Read case was an interesting but regular case. She is accused of striking O’Keefe with her SUV after a drunken night out and following yet another blowout argument and then leaving him to freeze and die on a Canton front lawn on Jan. 29, 2022.

In the years that have followed, the case has exploded into the largest crime story in New England and a major flashpoint for true crime followers across the U.S. and the world.

With such interest came scrutiny of the authorities surrounding the case — from the Massachusetts State Police detectives who would lead the investigation, to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office that prosecuted it to Berkowitz’s department’s handling of the early activity in the investigation.

While Berkowitz himself never took the stand in the first Read trial over this last summer, his presence was noted by his officers at the scene. A major point of contention is that Canton officers testified that Berkowitz said he saw taillight pieces from Read’s on the lawn days after O’Keefe’s death and directed them to photograph the pieces as evidence.

That  trial ended with a hung jury. A second trial is scheduled for this spring.

Career

Berkowitz spent five years as a patrolman at CPD before he was promoted to sergeant in 1997, lieutenant two years later and was made chief in February 2005.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from North Adams State College and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College, according to his biography.