Investigative firm goes over Canton police audit results with committee

Days after releasing the results, the outside company hired to audit the Canton Police Department presented its findings.

The company, 5 Stones Intelligence, was brought in after residents voted 903-800 to audit the department amid backlash over how it handled the investigation into Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe's death.

The 200-page report was released Tuesday as jury selection got underway in the retrial against O'Keefe's girlfriend, Karen Read, who is charged with his murder.

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The Canton Police Audit Committee met Thursday to go over the findings.

"We didn't go into this with an agenda," said Matt Germanowski, director of 5 Stones Intelligence. "We didn't play 'gotcha' with the police department."

The audit — which also looked into the handling of the Sandra Birchmore case — cost just under $200,000.

The company found there were mistakes made the day O'Keefe's body was found, including evidence collection. It determined that O'Keefe's body should have been photographed before it was removed from the scene, personal cellphones should not have been used, and officers should have remained on site until a secondary search for evidence took place later in the day.

"We found deviations from policy," Germanowski said Thursday. "None of them were intentional, conspiratorial, or with the intent to manipulate evidence."

Canton residents should not be worried about the integrity of the police department, 5 Stones Intelligence said, but the police department needs to be better financed.

"We got to put more money into it," said Bob McCarthy, chair of the Canton Police Audit Committee. "Money's at a premium, but it's a matter of life and death on some of these things."

On Tuesday, four days after 5 Stones Intelligence went over the results with the police audit committee, town officials responded to it in a press release.

"We are encouraged by the findings and grateful to 5 Stones Intelligence for their thorough and impartial work," Canton Select Board Chair Michael Loughran said in a statement. "This process was about transparency, accountability, and ensuring that the residents of Canton have full confidence in their police department. We are proud of our officers and leadership for their professionalism and service. I would also like to thank the Police Audit Committee for all the work they have done over the last year and a half."

The press release, shared by Town Administrator Charles Doody, notes, "The Canton Police Department has already taken initial steps to address several of the recommendations and is committed to implementing additional reforms and training to strengthen its operations," but does not elaborate on what steps have been taken.

"Implementing these improvements is a top priority for the department, and many of the recommendations have already been put in place," Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty said in a statement. "Bringing the totality of recommendations to fruition will necessitate financial support from the town."

Read the full Canton police audit below:

Prosecutors accused Read of killing O'Keefe and leaving him to die in the snow in January of 2022. Read argued she was framed in a wide-ranging coverup, and the actions of law enforcement — including members of the Canton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police — have been heavily scrutinized since the onset of her trial.

The murder trial against Read ended with a hung jury over the summer, and her second trial got underway Tuesday morning in Norfolk Superior Court.

The Birchmore case has brought even more attention to law enforcement in the town.

Federal prosecutors brought charges against Matthew Farwell, a Stoughton police officer, accusing him of killing Birchmore and staging her Canton apartment to make it appear she had died by suicide. Canton police found her body during a wellness check.

Some of the key observations and findings about the O'Keefe case included in the report were:

• First responding officers should have photographed O'Keefe at the location of where he was found before fire and rescue moved him to the ambulance.
• All interviews of critical witnesses, including Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts, should have been conducted at the Canton Police Department on Jan. 29, 2022, after John O'Keefe was transported to the hospital.
• Consensual recorded witness interviews should have been conducted.
• Massachusetts State Police, along with Canton police, should have maintained a police presence at 34 Fairview Road pending the secondary search conducted by state police crime scene units.
• All video footage maintained on Canton police computer systems of Karen Read's Lexus SUV while it was housed at the Canton Police Department from Jan. 29 through Feb. 2, 2022, should have been requested and turned over early in the Karen Read case to lead investigators for any action as deemed appropriate.

"That's antiquated policing," said Todd McGhee, a retired Massachusetts state trooper who oversaw training at the police academy during his time with the agency. "The biggest thing for any law enforcement agency is having the training and resources available to be a professional agency."

The report also detailed a department suffering from low morale, thanks to the withering criticism on social media and from public protests in front of the police station. Officers described being harassed on the job and off duty while spending time with their families.

Investigators said they interviewed each of the more than 40 police officers on the force.

While speaking about morale, one officer said: "No one in this town will care about us until one of us get murdered, even then half the town will probably celebrate that."

Key recommendations from the audit included recording witness interviews at the police station, supplying evidence collection bags and digital cameras in all department vehicles, providing more training for crime scene protocols and high-level reviews of all death investigation reports.

A community meeting was scheduled for Saturday, from 2-5 p.m. at Canton High School to present the findings and recommendations of the audit to the community and allow the public to ask questions about the report.

Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty said she and other town leaders did not receive an advance screening of the audit, so she had not read the report when reached by phone on Tuesday morning. Rafferty said she would be at the community meeting on Saturday.