13 Disgusting Messages in Bombshell Karen Read Lawsuit

[0:00] Karen Reed just filed a new bombshell lawsuit, and I'm going to tell you right now the messages that were allegedly sent by investigators in her criminal case that are a part of this complaint, not only are some of the worst stuff I've read in quite some time, it may change the whole game in this story. [0:19] I'm going to break down this lawsuit and what you need to know right now. [0:23] Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. [0:26] I'm Jesse Weber. [0:27] All right, before we jump into this, I've got to tell you about this sponsor, this partner of ours, because they have this app that I think you're going to love. [0:35] It is called Upside. [0:37] Upside gets you cash back, extra cash back on everyday purchases like gas, groceries, takeout. [0:43] So here's what you do. [0:44] You download Upside for free. [0:45] You claim an offer at one of their 100,000-plus locations. [0:49] You pay like normal with your card. [0:50] You verify the purchase, and just like that, money back. [0:53] So say I need to get gas or I want takeout one night, I'll search for Upside offers first, and after I spend, money appears in my app that I can try to get out. [1:00] I can transfer right into my bank account. [1:01] And Upside's frequent users, they earn an average of $254 back a year. [1:06] So to start getting your cash back, click the link in the description or scan the QR code. [1:10] Make sure to use promo code SIDEBAR because you'll get an extra $0.25 bonus on every gallon on your first tank of gas. [1:17] Look, I don't know if you saw the news, but there was a bombshell lawsuit just filed by Karen Reed. [1:23] It is long. [1:24] It is dense. [1:25] I want to break it down for you, the key moments, give you the main points. [1:29] And I really want to get into the shocking, the shocking aspects of this. [1:34] And I'll also give you my take on the strengths, maybe the weaknesses of this lawsuit. [1:38] But I got to put this into context, okay? [1:40] Look, you know the name. [1:41] You know the name, Karen Reed. [1:42] She was found not guilty last year of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe. [1:48] Despite being tried twice, two separate trials, one was a hung jury. [1:52] The prosecution's argument that she hit him with her car, [1:55] led him to die in the cold weather outside of another police officer, Brian Albert's house. [2:01] A jury did not agree that she killed John O'Keefe. [2:05] Now, the defense had pointed to a sloppy and tainted investigation, making the argument that Reed was framed really highlighted the investigators, [2:14] particularly lead investigator Michael Proctor. [2:18] Now, Proctor was actually fired from the Massachusetts State Police after a series of vulgar and sexist text messages were revealed, including some about Reed. [2:29] So, now Reed files this lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department through the town of Canton [2:36] for employing Proctor and also employing Sean Good from Canton PD, who was also a part of her case. [2:43] He actually resigned, by the way, from the force this week. [2:46] Now, as we'll get into, the argument is, and you're going to see this presented in the complaint, [2:50] these guys should never have been hired, retained, nor allowed to investigate her case, [2:57] and essentially they make the argument that there was a plot, a conspiracy to target her, that she was framed. [3:03] I'm going to tell you right now, the alleged messages that were sent by these guys, [3:09] this is what makes this something else. [3:12] This is what makes this complaint one of the most disgusting things I have read in quite some time. [3:18] This is why, when we talk about, and I'll get into this, the immunity argument, right, [3:23] of whether or not police officers and police departments are they immune from being sued, [3:28] it's these messages you've got to call out. [3:31] So, let me get into the allegations, the text messages. [3:34] Again, I'm going to tell you right now, brace yourself. [3:36] A lot to get into. [3:37] And also the causes of action, and I'll give my legal take on the case. [3:40] Okay. [3:41] By the way, this comes after another lawsuit has already been filed. [3:44] So, Karen Reed had filed a lawsuit in March of this year against the various officers and witnesses in her criminal case, [3:50] the town of Canton, too. [3:52] But let's focus on this lawsuit, okay? [3:53] Now, I'm going to read you verbatim the opening parts of this lawsuit, [3:58] because me just describing it wouldn't do it justice. [4:01] Quote, [4:01] The not guilty verdict in Commonwealth v. Karen Reed on June 18, 2025, did not merely end a wrongful prosecution. [4:10] It's shown an unflinching spotlight on something the Massachusetts State Police, MSP, [4:15] and the town of Canton Police Department, CPD, have spent years trying to conceal. [4:21] An embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations. [4:29] As a result of this entrenchment, Ms. Reed now files this action against MSP and CPD [4:35] for their negligent hiring, training, and supervision of biased and corrupt police officers [4:41] whose actions violated her constitutional rights and caused her immense harm. [4:46] At the heart of Ms. Reed's claims lies a distressing narrative, [4:50] one not just about individual rights, but about fundamental principles upon which our society is built. [4:55] Through this action, the MSP and CPD will now be forced to answer for the police officers' unlawful [5:01] conduct against Ms. Reed that is set forth in detail below, but also for the insidious culture [5:07] of bigotry and misogyny that fostered such unlawful conduct and has likely resulted in other [5:14] unconstitutional criminal investigations in which countless unknown others have also suffered. [5:20] When I hear language like that, my legal mind perks up because now I'm thinking if you're talking [5:25] about others who may be similarly situated as you, are you talking a bigger action? [5:31] You're talking a class action? [5:32] You're talking more people jumping on who believe, you know, if they were investigated by [5:36] Good or Proctor, are they going to jump in on this? [5:39] And there's one case in particular I'm going to mention a little bit later, but let's continue. [5:43] Quote, [5:43] Indeed, the MSP and CPD have avoided facing this very moment for years, but it's now time [5:49] for the long-awaited transparency and accountability owed to the citizens of this commonwealth. [5:55] By the way, when you file a lawsuit through the course of discovery and information being [5:58] exchanged at a public trial, that's, you know, the idea of transparency. [6:03] It goes on to say, quote, [6:04] Former MSP Detective Michael Proctor and former CPD Sergeant Sean Good are virulent bigots [6:10] whose hatred for anyone and everyone different from themselves permeates their every action. [6:16] They're not officers who occasionally voiced an offensive remark. [6:19] They're men whose written and recorded communications sent to one another and to a circle of like-minded [6:25] friends over the course of a decade establish entrenched and unrepentant hatred for women, [6:31] black Americans, Asian Americans, Jews, Hispanics, Arabs, and gay people. [6:37] Their unfitness for any position of public trust was not subtle. [6:42] It was extensively documented and has set forth blow knowable to MSP and CPD long before either [6:49] agency assigned them to investigate and prosecute Ms. Reid. [6:53] Proctor's and Good's involvement at the outset of the investigation into the death of John O'Keefe [6:58] the third invariably and irredeemably contaminated it in every respect. [7:04] So in other words, it's not just that they made horrible comments. [7:08] It shows that they were unfit to be part of this, that they shouldn't have been hired, [7:13] they shouldn't have been retained, and that they showed a bias and that that infected the [7:18] investigation. [7:19] There's a connective tissue there that's going to have to be explored and proved, but I'm [7:24] about to get into this, okay? [7:26] So Karen Reid claims that this is in thousands of written and audio messages. [7:31] Now to be clear, I don't believe we've seen like an official report of these text messages, [7:35] like the screenshots of them where you can see them for yourselves or anything like that, [7:40] but the content of those messages is part of the complaint, and the complaint does include [7:48] some quotes or alleged quotes. [7:51] By the way, there's a footnote that the audio recordings are in a thumb drive that was attached [7:56] as an exhibit to this complaint, but again, we don't have that. [7:59] It goes on to say, quote, [7:59] I'm going to read you some of these alleged exchanges as carefully as I can, okay? [8:28] We're on YouTube, got to be careful. [8:30] But I will just tell you this. [8:31] I apologize. [8:33] I apologize for how awful this is, okay? [8:37] This one reportedly comes from Proctor after he tells or allegedly tells Good about a multi-car [8:43] accident in Canton. [8:44] Quote, [8:45] Actually, take your time. [8:47] I saw an N-word was involved, so I wouldn't rush if you're working. [8:52] Let them die. [8:53] Sean Good reportedly sent messages that said, [8:58] Eat a black D-word, and then simply the N-word. [9:03] Proctor allegedly wrote, [9:05] America sucks. [9:06] Hitler was really onto something. [9:08] Then the bleeping U.S. had to step in and ruin it. [9:11] What about this? [9:12] Detroit should be destroyed along with places like Flint, Michigan. [9:15] They are breeding grounds for N-words to run wild. [9:19] There's this one, allegedly from Good, that just says, [9:23] Jew-effer, Proctor. [9:26] My new VP is a giant malignant C-word. [9:31] I pray to the heavens that some effed up insect from the Amazon crawls up her V, hatches eggs, [9:38] and the litter kills her by eating her from the inside out. [9:42] My gosh. [9:43] How about this one, allegedly from Sean Good? [9:45] She, he's a Jew, so def puts out. [9:49] How about this one, allegedly from Michael Proctor? [9:51] Deport their asses. [9:52] I don't care if they're here illegally or what their excuse was. [9:56] Effing deport those sand N-words. [10:00] Apparently, they claim Proctor wrote this one, referring to his girlfriend's, let's just say, [10:06] backside. [10:06] I can't even get bleeping near that thing. [10:10] I make every effort possible. [10:11] I wait till she's asleep, and I try to get at it. [10:15] I try every effort possible. [10:17] I try to get her hammered. [10:18] I can't get anywhere near it. [10:20] It's starting to piss me off. [10:22] It's not cool. [10:24] I'm not going to read more. [10:25] I feel pretty disgusting, but you get it. [10:27] You get the idea. [10:28] If you are interested in looking at all of them, if that's what you want to do, [10:32] go to the Law & Crime Plus app. [10:34] We have a case files for Karen Reed. [10:36] This lawsuit is put up there, and you could read all of them for yourself. [10:40] But again, here's the argument, that these men shouldn't have been hired. [10:43] They shouldn't have been retained. [10:44] They shouldn't have been allowed to investigate a criminal case, allegedly showing their bias, [10:49] particularly when the subject, the Karen Reed case, was a female. [10:54] She was a female suspect. [10:55] It says, quote, [10:56] Proctor and Good believe these folks were polluting neighborhoods in which they lived and worked [11:00] and where they eventually served. [11:02] They did more than just subscribe to and act in conformance with their bigotry. [11:06] They actually memorialized in writing and voice messages to their like-minded friends. [11:10] Not a few communications, thousands of them. [11:13] They discussed sharing private nude pictures of women and intentionally, let's just say, [11:19] finishing with women while they slept. [11:23] Few protected classes, community members, or public figures were spared. [11:28] And this is the background. [11:29] This is the background for why they shouldn't have investigated Reed, that they had a bias [11:33] against her. [11:35] And it goes to show, and what they're trying to say is they should have never been investigators. [11:40] Quote, [11:40] Proctor also wasn't shy about his other proclivities that made him patently unfit for service. [11:57] Including that, more than once, Proctor discussed planting coke on people and shoving a nightstick [12:05] up someone's rear end. [12:08] Very important. [12:09] Very important because, you and I both know, there were allegations that evidence was planted [12:15] in the Karen Reed case. [12:17] I'll talk about that in a little bit. [12:20] Quote, [12:20] Well, put simply, they were then and are now completely unquestionably unfit to hold positions [12:25] of authority with MSP and CPD, much less to play important roles, or in Ms. Reed's case, [12:30] the primary role in homicide investigations. [12:32] And despite that CPD had received, reviewed, verified, and analyzed these same messages nearly [12:38] a year ago, Sergeant Good remained employed with full rank as a sworn police officer by the [12:44] CPD until two days ago. [12:47] Let's get into Karen Reed. [12:48] On January 29th, 2022, the MSP and CPD unleashed these two misogynist bigots on Ms. Reed to [12:55] work on the conflicted and corrupt investigation into the death of Mr. O'Keefe. [13:01] It did not take long to trigger their hatred and target Ms. Reed. [13:04] Indeed, Proctor, Good, other police officers, and the respective organizations understood the [13:09] assignment once their fellow cops and friends, Brian and Nicole Albert, Matthew and Jennifer [13:14] McCabe, and Brian Higgins falsely reported that Mr. O'Keefe never went inside the house, [13:21] even though his face was battered and bruised. [13:24] He had dog bites and scratches on his arm, and he had a severe laceration on the back of his [13:29] head that could only have come from a backward fall onto a ridge surface in the house rather [13:34] than a flat front lawn. [13:36] Basically, this goes to the allegation that he went in that house that night after Karen [13:41] Reed dropped him off, and he was beaten up. [13:43] He was killed, left for dead outside, as opposed to her running him over. [13:47] Quote, [13:48] As the MSP's assigned lead investigator, without knowing any more about Ms. Reed than she was [14:00] an outsider and a female, Proctor openly exposed his ossified prejudice when he described her [14:08] to his group chat buddies as a, quote, retarded, whack job C-word with no ass, that leaks poo, [14:17] whom they decided hours in the investigation had, quote, zero chance skating. [14:23] Quote, [14:23] She's effed, he pronounced. [14:25] Proctor intended to, quote, [14:27] make cut and dry so he and his close-knit circle of friends could pin it on the, quote, [14:32] girl. [14:33] Quote, [14:33] But immediately after Ms. Reed's arrest, Goode made the same type of sexualized and dehumanizing [14:39] comment about Ms. Reed's medical conditions and physical appearance that he and Proctor [14:43] peddled in the hallways of their organizations on a daily basis. [14:48] Quote, [14:48] Jesus, every girl will want a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, colitis, if you can look like that [14:54] in yoga pants after killing your boyfriend. [14:57] Meanwhile, as Goode pondered Ms. Reed in yoga pants, Proctor seized Ms. Reed's phone and launched [15:02] immediately into a search for naked pictures of her, only to report back to his colleagues [15:07] and friends, disappointingly, no nudes so far. [15:10] But, as he wrote to others as the investigation began, he, quote, hoped that she, quote, kills [15:16] herself. [15:18] MSP and CPD's investigative approach was born out of Proctor and Good's perverse and depraved [15:23] pattern of singling out and vilifying an outsider while protecting the blue line and their families, [15:29] meaning police. [15:29] This was, of course, made more palatable by dehumanizing Ms. Reed. [15:34] With the help of Good and CPD, Proctor and his colleagues at MSP, including his direct [15:40] supervisor, Yuri Buchanek, conducted a fundamentally conflicted and corrupt investigation where the [15:45] goal was to pin it on the girl and which included rampant violations of policies, procedures, [15:50] and ethical rules. [15:51] For example, and as described further below, despite the overwhelming evidence that Mr. O'Keefe [15:55] was inside the house, they did not search the home for blood, fingerprints, or DNA evidence. [16:00] The house was neither processed nor photographed by a forensic criminalist. [16:04] Indeed, the investigators did not even walk into the crime scene house until a week later [16:08] and then only for a pro forma visit and brief interview of Nicole Albert. [16:13] No effort was made to secure evidence from the Alberts German Shepherd, meaning because [16:17] they thought the dog could have bitten John O'Keefe, which would tend to show that he was [16:22] in the house, right, and that Karen Reed didn't kill him. [16:25] It goes on to say, quote, [16:25] even though Mr. O'Keefe's body was found in the front yard with fresh and obvious dog [16:30] bites and scratches on his right arm. [16:32] Proctor Buchanek manufactured evidence to ensure that Ms. Reed was blamed for Mr. O'Keefe's [16:37] death, intentionally diverting attention away from Proctor's friends and fellow law enforcement [16:42] officers. [16:43] This included planting evidence at the scene on Mr. O'Keefe's clothes and on Ms. Reed's [16:48] vehicle to support the house defendant's false narrative that Ms. Reed struck Mr. O'Keefe [16:53] with her vehicle, notwithstanding that the investigators knew Mr. O'Keefe's injuries [16:57] were inconsistent with a motor vehicle strike and consistent with a physical altercation [17:03] and dog attack. [17:04] And this is the big part. [17:05] Among other failures, MSPs and CPD's delegation of power and authority to those as biased, [17:11] corrupt, and bigoted as Proctor and Good led to Ms. Reed being wrongfully accused of [17:17] homicide for three and a half years and subjected to suspicion, two arrests, two prosecutions, [17:23] and public trials, and public condemnation. [17:25] Indeed, with the exercise of ordinary care, which we'll talk about, both MSP and CPD would [17:31] have known that Proctor, Good and others were unfit for service from the beginning. [17:36] And to try to prove that Proctor himself knew he was unqualified, they go, quote, Proctor [17:42] himself acknowledged this fact in 2017 after four years on the job telling his friends, quote, [17:47] Quote, no idea how I passed the background. [17:50] Remember when I mentioned other cases? [17:52] For those of you who know the Sandra Birchmore case, comes up in this. [17:56] Quote, as just one example, in 2022, as an 18-year veteran of CPD, Good shared his views [18:02] in writing on Sandra Birchmore, a young woman who tragically died the year before in Canton [18:07] and whose death was initially ruled a suicide until federal authorities discovered that [18:11] multiple officers from the neighboring town Stoughton's Police Department had been sexually [18:17] abusing Ms. Birchmore when she was a minor. [18:20] After federal authorities investigated, they charged a former Stoughton police officer with [18:26] her murder and her death is now classified as a homicide at the federal level. [18:30] The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office early this year changed her death from suicide [18:34] to undetermined. [18:36] Against this backdrop, Good told his friends, quote, that chick was borderline retarded. [18:43] Now, how it could have an effect on the criminal prosecution in that case, we'll wait and see. [18:47] But again, you can go back to that earlier argument where Reid seems to suggest you take [18:52] her allegations as true, she may not be the only one affected. [18:56] Going back to Good, complaint says, quote, he apparently relished his ability to use his institutional [19:02] power, authority, and access to illegally obtain information about women he encountered in his [19:07] daily life, writing in 2015, ha ha ha, can't wait to look this C word up tonight at work. [19:13] Yeah, not great for a guy assigned to the Karen Reid case. [19:16] Okay, those are basically the statement of alleged facts here put forward by Karen Reid. [19:22] Now I want to go into the causes of action, the counts, what she's suing for. [19:25] Count one, negligence against the Massachusetts State Police. [19:29] And the basic idea is that MSP owes a duty to the public, a duty to make sure that their [19:35] troopers don't cause harm. [19:38] You got to train them. [19:39] You got to supervise them properly. [19:41] It's about what's reasonable, what's reasonable care. [19:45] It's about what is foreseeable, this foreseeable harm your troopers could cause. [19:50] And here the argument is, is that MSP breached its duty to Karen Reid by, among other things, [19:56] allegedly, by hiring and keeping Proctor on the force, when they knew or should have known [20:01] he was unfit for the job, that they failed to properly train him and others, allowed him [20:06] to investigate the Karen Reid case, even though they claim he had personal relationships with [20:10] the witnesses and potential suspects. [20:13] And they also make the allegation that the MSP allowed him to allegedly fabricate and plant [20:18] evidence. [20:19] And the harm for Reid, they claim, she was improperly investigated and prosecuted. [20:24] Claims she lost her career, her home, her car, her reputation, lost her freedom for years, [20:29] had to go through two public trials. [20:32] I want to actually highlight something that's in the complaint about that. [20:34] It says, quote, [20:35] As for the MSP, both before and during the Proctor-led investigation, his immediate supervisor, who [20:41] we mentioned before, Buchanek, provided his annual employment reviews. [20:45] True to form, despite knowing firsthand the extent of Proctor's unlawful conduct, bias, and [20:50] bigotry, Buchanek repeatedly and falsely wrote that, quote, [20:54] Proctor has handled himself with the utmost professionalism and with strict integrity, [20:59] and confirmed that they had successfully discussed MSP's policies concerning anti-harassment, sexual [21:06] harassment, and discrimination and diversity, among others. [21:10] Quote, [21:10] Other times, the MSP simply looked the other way. [21:13] For example, in February 2024, four months before Ms. Reid's first trial, the MSP was aware [21:18] they had a problem specifically related to Ms. Reid's case. [21:21] The Department of Justice had begun investigating the investigators and on February 1st, questioned [21:26] Proctor in a grand jury proceeding about text messages he wrote in which he called Ms. Reid [21:31] a C-word, among other bigoted comments the Department of Justice had found. [21:35] Proctor was also questioned about his text at 11 p.m. on January 29, 2022, that House defendant [21:41] Brian Albert would escape scrutiny in the investigation because, quote, he's a Boston cop too. [21:47] Further, Proctor was confronted at this grand jury about texts from Julie Albert to his sister, [21:52] Courtney Proctor, asking to give Proctor a gift for some implied favor he did for the [21:56] Alberts during their interviews for the case. [21:58] On February 4th, 2024, Proctor had a meeting and told the highest level of leadership at [22:03] the MSP, Colonel John E. Maughan, recently retired, Lieutenant Brian Connors, recently [22:11] retired, and Major Leonard Koppenrath, active, about his testimony to the Department of Justice, [22:17] including his text messages. [22:19] They did not terminate him, did not immediately ask for his phone, and did not immediately [22:24] investigate his bigotry. [22:26] They knew it existed and where to find it, but they didn't want to, at least until Ms. [22:30] Reid's trial was over. [22:31] Indeed, they tried to hide it from Ms. Reid and the public despite initiating an internal [22:37] affairs investigation in early March 2024 before the jury in Ms. Reid's first criminal trial [22:44] was even impaneled. [22:45] It was not until Ms. Reid's defense counsel found out about these messages and then used [22:49] them during the public trial that MSP concluded it couldn't ignore this any longer. [22:54] Count two, negligence, but this time it's against the town of Canton through the Canton Police [23:00] Department. [23:00] Same kind of thing. [23:02] CPD allegedly had a duty to the public to make sure its officers, its employees don't harm [23:06] anyone. [23:07] This is very much about the allegations regarding goods, so similar to Proctor. [23:10] But there's also this too, quote, failing to properly supervise and train Sergeant Michael [23:15] Lank in his failure to inspect or secure the scene where Mr. O'Keefe's body was found, [23:21] inspect the House defendant's bodies for evidence of a fight, or ask to search the House defendant's [23:25] phones all on the morning of January 29th, 2022. [23:29] Failing to preserve, protect, and secure various surveillance video inside and outside the [23:35] Sally Port, including, but not limited to, setting the auto-delete function on such videos [23:39] to 30 days, and not preserving these particular videos for a longer period of time. [23:44] Attempting to obfuscate and hide from Ms. Reed's criminal defense team surveillance video [23:49] footage from inside the police station and outside in the parking lot on relevant days. [23:54] Failing to supervise the relationship between Proctor and Kevin Albert. [23:58] Providing Brian Higgins with access to the CPD station without supervision, and once CPD [24:03] knew, Higgins used the CPD station in the middle of the night, immediately following the House [24:09] party on the night of Mr. O'Keefe's death, failing to investigate and report that fact [24:13] to the MSP. [24:14] Allegation there, did he do something or have access to the evidence in any way? [24:18] Count three. [24:19] Civil conspiracy against both the MSP and town of Canton. [24:22] Now this is an interesting one. [24:23] I wonder if it's going to be tricky. [24:24] Essentially, the allegation is that MSP and CPD had a common plan or design to focus entirely [24:32] this investigation into the death of O'Keefe improperly against Reed. [24:37] Now here are my thoughts on this lawsuit. [24:38] First of all, those messages, those alleged messages, if they're produced, incredibly bad. [24:46] Incredibly bad, if true. [24:47] I mean, I say this all the time, but it is very hard to excuse or put into context alleged [24:53] messages, right? [24:54] And even when you saw Proctor testify in Reed's first trial and him having to explain things [25:00] that he sent, there was nothing left to say. [25:03] Now, I don't know if all of those messages would come into a trial here. [25:08] The argument would be many of these are too inflammatory. [25:12] They might be irrelevant to Reed's case. [25:14] So the key would be to say, look, look at all of these messages. [25:19] This is a pattern. [25:20] It shows how unfit Proctor and Good are to serve, to investigate, and particularly to [25:26] look into a case, to investigate a case regarding a female suspect and a dead police officer. [25:30] It shows their bias. [25:32] That could be an argument. [25:32] And I'll just tell you right now, if the jury hears those messages, oh boy, that is not [25:38] going to be great for MSP or CPD. [25:40] Now, I do think that an immunity argument could be raised too. [25:46] Question if they'll be successful. [25:47] What do I mean? [25:48] Under the law, we talk about qualified immunity, sovereign immunity. [25:52] It basically protects state and local governments and police departments and police officers from [25:57] being sued in connection with the performance of their duties and performance of their jobs. [26:02] And that makes sense, right? [26:03] Not every arrest is going to lead to a prosecution. [26:05] Not every prosecution is going to lead to a conviction. [26:08] We have the court for that reason. [26:09] We have the legal system for that reason. [26:12] It would be improper if every suspect or criminal defendant could then just turn around and sue [26:18] the prosecutors or police departments for millions of dollars arguing their rights were [26:22] violated. [26:23] Everybody says they're innocent. [26:24] But that would have a chilling effect. [26:26] Argument would be there would be no more arrests, no more prosecution, including of legitimate [26:30] criminals, because there would be a fear by the prosecutors and by law enforcement and [26:35] police officers. [26:36] They would have a fear of being sued. [26:38] So you need to have a sense of immunity. [26:40] You need to have a sense of protection there. [26:42] That would be the argument. [26:43] Would it be successful? [26:44] Look, here's what the defendants would argue, right? [26:46] We had legitimate evidence against Karen Reed. [26:49] You may disagree with it, but we had real evidence. [26:52] Her alleged problematic statements referring to how she hit John O'Keefe, even in a media interview [26:57] where she seemed to, you know, wonder if she did it, that she was able to immediately know [27:03] where his body was as they were driving around trying to find him. [27:06] Driving conditions were bad. [27:08] There was the argument that the cell phone data from O'Keefe's phone showed it was always [27:13] outside, meaning he never went into the house. [27:16] The alleged shattered taillight of her car, there was different, you know, testimony regarding [27:20] the impact or what the, and there was different testimony regarding his injuries, John O'Keefe's [27:25] injuries. [27:25] So they could say, look, we had evidence to believe she did it. [27:29] But the way to pierce that, the way to pierce that immunity is saying, no, this wasn't just [27:34] a sloppy investigation. [27:36] This wasn't like we just made a mistake. [27:38] This wasn't just bad police work. [27:39] No. [27:40] The way they may be able to pierce that immunity is saying, you cannot hold, you cannot protect [27:46] police officers or a police department if they are willfully, wantonly engaging in [27:54] misconduct, if their targeting of Reed was improper and it was done with malice. [28:01] That's where this conspiracy thing comes up, right? [28:03] There was a conspiracy to frame her or set her up or not properly investigate. [28:07] Again, it has to be more than a sloppy investigation. [28:09] It has to be really egregious, willful, wanton, wrong conduct. [28:13] Is that there? [28:13] Can you show a conspiracy, an agreement between MSP and CPD to harm Reed? [28:18] Essentially, that's the argument. [28:19] And look, you do wonder what also will come out through discovery and through a trial, [28:24] because Karen Reed's criminal case for the defense, it was not about the defense putting [28:27] on a case, proving a case to prove police corruption or a conspiracy. [28:33] It was about raising reasonable doubt as to her guilt, showing improper police work. [28:37] They didn't have the burden to prove that there was corruption. [28:41] They didn't have the burden to prove that there was a conspiracy. [28:45] It's different in a civil case, right? [28:47] Particularly one more focused on the authorities and their training and their hiring and their [28:52] past work. [28:53] That's what this civil case is about. [28:55] So this may ultimately result in more answers and more explanation than we saw in the criminal [29:00] cases. [29:01] So for those who say, will this be the way to get to the truth about what happened to John [29:07] O'Keefe? [29:09] Maybe, maybe not. [29:11] Now, let's talk about the responses. [29:12] Karen Reed went on to Today Show, NBC, this morning, said that John O'Keefe is the reason [29:19] they're doing this. [29:20] Quote, John was the victim of this institutional corruption, and we're the voice for John. [29:26] Went on to say, this was always our plan, that I had to save my own life first. [29:30] I can't do anything if I'm not free. [29:32] I had to fight for my freedom for years, and I knew as it unfolded, I was never going to [29:36] be able to just forget that this happened to me, that I was wronged in this way. [29:40] I couldn't just go back to life as it was, I have to continue fighting for justice. [29:46] One of Reed's attorneys, Alan Jackson, also said to the Today Show, what Karen wants, you [29:52] cannot write on a check, which is exposure. [29:55] Exposure of the corruption that is the DNA of the Massachusetts State Police and the Canton [30:00] Police Department. [30:01] Now, MSP commented on the alleged messages in this complaint, calling them abhorrent and [30:09] entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency. [30:13] In fact, the MSP superintendent, Colonel Jeffrey Noble, said that those alleged text messages, [30:20] quote, do not reflect the values of the Massachusetts State Police and are not tolerated within our [30:26] ranks. [30:26] They underscore and fully support my decision to terminate Michael Proctor. [30:31] Now, a lawyer representing Proctor made this statement to NBC Boston, quote, that whatever [30:36] Mr. Proctor did or said in his personal life had no bearing whatsoever on the investigation [30:42] of Karen Reed. [30:44] But there you go. [30:44] Breakdown of what happened in this lawsuit. [30:46] We'll continue to follow what happens next. [30:48] Thanks so much for joining us here on Sidebar, everybody. [30:50] As always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. [30:55] You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. [30:57] If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through [31:02] Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. [31:03] I'll see you next time, everybody.