Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox says he “didn’t know” that one of his officers was associated with the Karen Read case, contradicting his subordinate, who testified in the retrial that he told her to “tell the truth up here.”

Cox is facing heat from followers of the case after he told reporters that he has “nothing to do with Karen Read,” denying accusations from the defense that he influenced Officer Kelly Dever’s testimony.

Dever was working as a patrol officer in Canton when Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, died in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022, before she joined the BPD. Cox has led the department since August 2022.

During her direct examination in the retrial, Dever testified that Cox called her into his office and that the commissioner told her the department would support her and to tell the truth.

“It was a reflection of how good of a leader he is,” Dever said of Cox. “It was not anything that I found unusual, given the fact that he is someone who wanted to show support for his officer.”

Cox broke his silence on the issue on Thursday as he responded to questions about Dever’s testimony from the media. He pointed out how he was in Michigan, working as chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department, at the time of O’Keefe’s death.

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know this person was associated with the Karen Read case,” Cox said of Dever. “You know, I have an organization full of over 3,000 people, and we support all our folks.

“And the reality is that I get information passed on, whether those people are high or low, and I encourage everyone,” he added. “And if you’re going to work here and you belong here, then we’re going to encourage you. I have no idea what they’re talking about with Karen Read.”

Retired New York Police Department detectives Ron Licciardi and Ed Wallace addressed Cox’s remarks during their podcast on YouTube Thursday night. The episode has drawn over 100,000 views.

“He totally stepped on his you know what,” Licciardi said of Cox. “These questions were peppered at him at a fast rate, and he rolls his eyes, he makes faces … He was making this like it was a joke.”

Wallace added: “It’s all (expletive). We know it’s all (expletive). But that’s because they have been empowered to think that they are untouchable.”

Defense attorney Alan Jackson brought Dever to the stand, questioning her over how she initially told federal investigators that she saw witness Brian Higgins and then-Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz enter the police department garage and spend a “wildly long time” with Read’s SUV. This gave credence to the defense’s theory that police meddled with the evidence, including the busted taillight whose pieces were later found at the crime scene.

Dever said she later recanted this statement as a “false memory” after being shown a timeline of events that proved that it wasn’t possible.

Dever’s testimony was very tense, with Jackson asking her at one point whether she even wanted to be there.

“I am put on the stand in a murder trial. I don’t know why I’m here. I have no connection to this case,” Dever answered. She testified that she and Cox did not discuss “anything malicious” when she met with the commissioner.

“He just wanted me to tell the truth up here,” Dever recounted of the conversation.

Cox said it came as a surprise when he heard his name being mentioned in the case.

“I was struck, like, ‘What do I have to do with the Karen Read case?’” he said. “And so the fact is, it’s much ado about nothing. We have employees here that we have to develop and encourage and do things, and I do that for tons of our employees.”

Read, 45, had faced up to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder, the top-level offense charged against her. She was also charged with manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Prosecutors accused Read of backing up into O’Keefe, her boyfriend of two years, with her SUV, leaving him to freeze and die on the front yard of a Canton home where the pair was supposed to continue a night out after the bars closed, in the early snowy morning of Jan. 29, 2022.

But the jury didn’t buy the argument, charging Read with just drunken driving.

In an interview with the Herald’s Howie Carr last month, Prado called Dever not believable at all.

“It was uncomfortable to watch her behavior because she is an officer after all, and she is among us, and she carries a gun,” Prado said of Dever. “She was not reliable and scary, knowing that she’s around holding a weapon.”

Dever is on family medical leave from the department, a spokesperson told the Herald.