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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The family of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Karen Read and two bars in Canton, Mass.
Paul O’Keefe, John O’Keefe’s brother, filed the suit in Plymouth Superior Court, and is listed as a plaintiff both individually and as a representative of his brother’s estate. O’Keefe’s parents and niece are also listed as plaintiffs.
John O’Keefe died in January of 2022 after a night of drinking with his then-girlfriend, Karen Read, and other friends. Prosecutors accused Read of hitting O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in the snow in Canton after their romantic relationship had soured.
In the civil lawsuit, the O’Keefe family is asking for at least $50,000 dollars in damages for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The suit said that Read drove drunk and that her “wanton and reckless disregard for safety” caused O’Keefe’s death, as well as “serious injuries of body and mind, conscious pain and suffering, fear of impending death, lost earnings, medical, funeral and burial expenses.”
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The suit also accused two Canton bars — C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar and Grill — of continuing to serve Read alcohol that night despite the fact she was visibly drunk. The suit said C.F. McCarthy's served Read seven drinks and allowed her to take an "alcoholic drink out of" the bar, which she then took to the Waterfall.
Over the course of an hour, the suit said "Waterfall served Read one shot and one mixed alcoholic drink," which she consumed, despite already "showing signs of intoxication."
The lawsuit also said that even though Read admitted to hitting O'Keefe, she "knowingly and deliberately changed her story and fabricated a conspiracy knowing the same to be false."
"She publicly communicated this false narrative thereby frustrating Justice for [O'Keefe]," the lawsuit said. "Such false narrative caused the Plaintiffs aggravated emotional distress."
Earlier this year, Read’s high-profile murder trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. A new trial is scheduled for early next year. Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Last week, Judge Beverly Cannone denied a motion from Read's lawyers to dismiss two of the three charges against her. The defense said jurors had come to them to say they had unanimously found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene, and that manslaughter was the only count they could not agree on.
WBZ NewsRadio has reached out to both bars, as well as a member of Read's criminal defense team for comment.
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