The family of a Boston police officer, John O’Keefe, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman whose murder trial in O’Keefe’s death ended in a hung jury. The lawsuit also accuses two bars of serving Read alcohol while she was already intoxicated on the night of the incident. Read allegedly struck O’Keefe with her SUV after having drinks at C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grille.
During her criminal trial, Read claimed innocence, with her defense team alleging that law enforcement officers framed her. The lawsuit, filed in Plymouth County Superior Court, does not specify damages but accuses Read and the bars of negligent infliction of emotional distress. Read allegedly left O’Keefe for dead outside the home of a former Boston police officer in Canton. Prosecutors had charged Read with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.
After a mistrial was declared in the criminal case, four jurors reportedly said the entire panel reached not guilty verdicts on two charges. Prosecutors plan to retry the case, with a new trial scheduled for January. The O’Keefe family lawsuit accuses C.F. McCarthy’s of serving Read seven drinks over 1 1/2 hours and Waterfall Bar & Grille of serving her additional alcohol on the night of the incident. The suit alleges that Read struck O’Keefe after an argument when he got out of the vehicle at the Canton house. Read’s lawyers claim O’Keefe was likely beaten inside the house and left outside in the snow.
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