For Canton to move past the turmoil that has shaken the community since the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe in January 2022, many residents say an audit of the police department is an essential beginning.

“As a citizen of this town, the issue is we’ve got a problem with our police department that needs fixing,” resident Susan Harrington told the Herald on Saturday. “We can have that conversation about whether that’s incompetence, malfeasance, or a combination of the two, but things aren’t right.”

Others, however, say they are comfortable with the way the embattled department is running.

“95% of people feel confident with the police,” resident Mike Higgins told the Herald on Friday.

The division in the Greater Boston community continues to be felt as the Karen Read murder case is still playing out at Norfolk Superior Court, a month after Judge Beverly Cannone ruled a mistrial on July 1.

The declaration capped off a dramatic nine-week trial with more than 20 hours of deliberation behind closed doors. A new trial is scheduled for January.

The case

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Prosecutors say Read struck John O’Keefe, a 16-year Boston Police officer and boyfriend of two years, with her SUV following a drunken argument and left him to die in a snowstorm in front of 34 Fairview in Canton in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022.

O’Keefe died at the age of 46.

Defense attorneys counter that outside actors killed O’Keefe and conspired with state and local police to frame Read for his murder.

Local accountability

Harrington, who has lived in Canton for 27 years, helped lead a petition that resulted in a special town meeting last November where residents approved a $200,000 audit of the department.

Until the murder case and trial grabbed national attention and took social media by storm, Harrington said she felt Canton had a “great police department.” Her view has since changed, both on local and state law enforcement, she said, due to the “mishandling of evidence and interviewing of witnesses.”

A town committee — a chief procurement officer, two members nominated by the petitioners, and two citizens at large — approved the contents of a request for proposals for the independent, third-party audit of the Canton Police Department in June.

While the RFP has not yet been published, the successful bidder will be tasked with a full review of the policies, procedures, administration and compliance of the department.

The audit will also include a review of all FBI and State Police investigations into the department. Following the assessment, the bidder will be required to provide a “comprehensive public presentation of their findings and recommendations.”

“We are being told to ‘Just trust us,’” Harrington said, “but we absolutely don’t trust the police department or our government. We’re being gas-lit, that’s how it feels. We need to know what’s factual, what isn’t, what needs fixing, what doesn’t.”

George Comeau, an active resident who serves on various town boards, highlighted how he believes the department has “amazing support” but that doesn’t mean serious concerns haven’t arisen.

“We do want to support our police department,” Comeau told the Herald. “They put their lives on the line for us, but they are not above accountability. That’s what this is about.”

“There has to be an acceptance that we have done things wrong,” he added. “Moving forward, there needs to be grace. There is no grace in this community right now, nobody is forgiving.”

Fallout

In the fallout of the mistrial, the reputation of the Massachusetts State Police, which was in charge of the case, has taken a massive hit. Lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor, who was already under internal review, was suspended without pay last month.

And the inner workings of Canton itself have been impacted.

It took nearly a month for officials in Canton to publicize police Det. Kevin Albert’s paid administrative leave from the embattled department. The development became public at a rowdy Select Board meeting on July 9.

Albert, who earned $176,387.91 in total pay last year, was placed on leave the day after Proctor revealed on the stand that the two were drinking buddies and Albert allegedly helped conduct interviews.

Albert’s brother, Christopher Albert, a town Select Board member, says he will hold himself to a higher standard following “two recent verbal altercations with members of the public” regarding the case.

Kevin and Christopher Albert are brothers to Brian Albert, the then-homeowner of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, on whose lawn O’Keefe’s body was found, and a central figure in the defense’s conspiracy theory.

A Herald analysis of the town’s payroll for 2023 found that four Canton police officers who responded to the scene that morning earned more than $200,000 in total pay last calendar year.

Division

Rita Lombardi, a 45-year resident of Canton and a central figure in the “Free Karen Read” movement, stood outside the courthouse every day during the trial and deliberations, taking time off from work.

“I did this to protect myself,” Lombardi said. “Helping Karen Read is protecting me, my town, and my safety. My safety is at risk with the leadership of the Canton Police Department and the leadership of the (Select Board).”

Lombardi, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for a Select Board seat this past spring, told the Herald she sees the department audit as just a stepping stone in the path toward recovery. She believes the feds need to step in and take receivership of it to address what she said is a “humanitarian crisis.”

Lombardi and two other Canton residents who are Read supporters say they had their lawns damaged by bleach-filled balloons last month.

In the weeks following the mistrial, prosecutors in the case have said that four jurors reached out — with at least one backing up the defense’s claim that the jury was unanimous in acquitting Read on two of the three charges against her, including second-degree murder.

“The fact that this case is still in limbo because those verdicts were not accepted has further traumatized the town of Canton and has increased safety risks for those who speak out,” Lombardi told the Herald.

Those on the other side, however, say that Lombardi and other followers who back Read, many from outside Canton, have also received threats against them. Dozens of residents who are part of a group called “Canton First” circulated a letter last month that included “Rita Lombardi DOES NOT speak for us.”

A central figure in the “Free Karen Read” movement is Aidan Kearney, 42, of Holden, who has covered the case and trial from a pro-Read perspective on his blog, TB Daily News.

Kearney faces indictments on eight felony counts of witness intimidation and eight misdemeanor counts — five of picketing witnesses and three of “conspiracy” — related to the case.

Allison McCabe, a witness in the trial broke down in tears on the stand as she recounted the harassment she and her family have received throughout the case.

“Everybody has a right to their own opinion, but the bullying has to stop,” resident Peter Hennessy told the Herald. “If you want to bully someone, bully me. Don’t bully families with young children.”

The division in Canton became so bad and “hate-filled” that the local paper, the Canton Citizen, has put a hold on publishing any letters related to the murder case and trial. The Select Board has also moved its meetings virtually.

Greg Murphy, a resident of 24 years and active member of various local boards, believes the audit could be a way to unite the community but he said he feels the majority of residents in town are “not overly worried” by the case.

“I don’t see the Karen Read trial solving anything in Canton,” he told the Herald. “The reality is we need to look at how the municipality is run.”

The Select Board in late June approved a one-year contract, instead of three, for Chief Helena Rafferty who has led the police department since being promoted in June 2022. Members emphasized how the dust needs to settle from the Read case and cited an ongoing $200,000 audit of the department.

Rafferty, who made $212,524.54 in total pay last year, finds herself in her own legal issues after crashing into and injuring a Wrentham resident in February. “At that time, I answered questions, and upon my request took a breathalyzer test which read 0.0% blood alcohol content,” she said in an April letter to the community.

The victim sued the chief in June, and last Monday, Rafferty’s attorneys responded, demanding a trial by jury.

In the face of adversity, resident Christine Smith, who has lived in town for 30 years, pointed to the “good things” happening in town, including development projects, volunteers putting together a farmers market for the third straight year and other activities.

Smith highlighted how she and her family recently sold their Canton home to downsize to a condo in town, saying the case doesn’t appear to have impacted home sales and values.

“Unfortunately, a negative thing hits the news,” she said, “and it kind of gives a false impression that everything is bad, but everything isn’t bad.”

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