DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Supporters of Karen Read were scheduled to take to the streets Monday for a series of standout demonstrations across the country.
Read is facing charges after prosecutors said she hit and killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her car and left him to die in the snow outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer in January 2022.
Her defense has said she is being framed, saying O’Keefe actually died after a fight inside the home.
While lawyers have argued the case inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Read’s supporters have repeatedly gathered in Dedham and beyond.
A group of supporters organized a statewide standout on Aug. 4, with protests in more than 30 locations across Massachusetts.
Less than one month later, organizers on Monday morning said supporters planned to participate in at least 38 standouts spanning from Cape Cod to western Massachusetts.
Outside the state, organizers noted plans for 18 standouts from Maine to California.
Read’s case went to trial beginning in late April. After two months of testimony and five days of jury deliberations without a verdict, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office quickly announced plans to re-try Read.
Read’s defense team vowed to continue fighting allegations against her.
While both sides now eye January 2025 for jury selection in Read’s second trial, O’Keefe’s family has initiated civil proceedings related to their loved one’s death, filing a wrongful death lawsuit last week against Read and two local bars that they say overserved Read and O’Keefe the night O’Keefe died.
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