Boston cop John O'Keefe loved ones angry at 'disgusting' Karen Read verdict

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Jun 19, 2025

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Friends and relatives of Boston police Officer John O’Keefe believe the acquittal of Karen Read was unjust and the celebrations that ensued were “disgusting.”

The slain officer’s college pal John Jackson said O’Keefe’s family heard Read’s supporters cheer when her nearly eight week retrial ended with not guilty verdicts on second degree murder and manslaughter charges.

“It was disgusting,” he told CBS News.

Read was accused of running her boyfriend over with her SUV in 2022 outside a party at the home of O’Keefe’s former coworker as their romance was deteriorating. She received a year’s probation for driving while intoxicated, but was cleared of charges that would’ve likely sent her to prison.

Her defense team argued Read’s friends on the force tried framing her after his bloody body was found in a snowbank outside the home of the retired officer hosting the party.

“If she decided to make better decisions between 12:30 and 6 a.m., he’d still be here,” Jackson told Boston station WCVB.

O’Keefe had been a police officer for 16 years. He was also raising the niece and nephew left behind when his sister died in 2013.

“To the niece and nephew, life is not fair, and they learned that when their parents passed and when John passed,” Jackson said

He likened the relieved cheers of Read supporters outside the courthouse Wednesday to a circus.

A joint statement signed by O’Keefe supporters including Jennifer McCabe, who testified about the night O’Keefe was found dead, said his advocates would have more to say later. That statement blamed Read’s defense team and some media members for participating in “a devastating miscarriage of justice.”

O’Keefe’s family has filed a civil suits against Read and two bars accused of serving her the night O’Keefe died.