The latest on the Karen Read murder case
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Boston police commissioner denies allegations of meddling in Karen Read case
“I have nothing to do with Karen Read,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox told reporters Thursday.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox fielded questions about the Karen Read case Thursday, dismissing allegations that he pressured one of his officers into changing her testimony during Read’s recent murder trial.
“I have nothing to do with Karen Read,” Cox told reporters following an unrelated event, per video from WBZ.
More on Karen Read:
Read’s lawyers had strongly suggested Cox influenced the testimony of Boston Police Officer Kelly Dever, who was working as a patrol officer in Canton when Read’s boyfriend John O’Keefe died in January 2022. O’Keefe was also a Boston police officer, though he died before Cox was tapped to lead the department.
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While prosecutors alleged Read drunkenly backed her SUV into O’Keefe outside another Boston officer’s home in Canton, jurors ultimately acquitted her of murder and manslaughter charges last month. Read was only convicted of operating under the influence, a misdemeanor for which she received a year of probation.
Read’s lawyers claim she was framed in a law enforcement coverup. During a hostile courtroom exchange with defense attorney Alan Jackson, Dever alleged Read’s lawyers threatened to accuse her of perjury if she did not testify she saw witness Brian Higgins and former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz in the police station’s garage with Read’s SUV.
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Dever previously told law enforcement officials as much, though she testified that she recanted her statement after she was reminded she had left the station before Read’s vehicle arrived on Jan. 29, 2022.
Dever also confirmed she spoke with Cox at some point, and that he “just wanted me to tell the truth up here.” She denied anyone in either the Canton or Boston police departments weighed in on what she should or shouldn’t say on the stand.
Read, however, seemed skeptical.
“[Dever] was called into the commissioner’s office, and her story completely changed; she recanted,” Read told reporters as she left the courthouse later that day.
Cox sought to distance himself from the sensational case Thursday, denying any involvement.
“As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know this person was associated with the Karen Read case,” he 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, alright? 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.”
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Asked if he told Dever to “do the right thing,” as Read’s team alleged, Cox again stated he didn’t know Dever was associated with the case.
“I was struck, like, ‘What do I have to do with the Karen Read case?’” he recalled. “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.”
Dever, who faced intense online scrutiny following her testimony, is currently on family medical leave from the Boston Police Department, an agency spokesperson confirmed. With Read’s trial now in the rearview mirror, Cox had his sights on other matters Thursday.
“That case is over, and we’ve got a lot of other stuff to talk about. I have nothing to do with Karen Read,” he repeated, noting he was still chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department in Michigan when O’Keefe died.
Watch Cox’s full comments on the Karen Read case via WBZ:
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