Select Board approves Canton police chief’s contract extension
- by The Boston Globe
- Jun 27, 2024
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Supporters cheered as Karen Read left the courthouse in Dedham as the jury began deliberations in her trial.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
While a jury deliberates the fate of Karen Read in her murder trial, some vocal Canton residents have reached their own verdict: the townâs police department, led by chief Helena Rafferty, needs an overhaul.
At a Canton select board meeting Tuesday that quickly became chaotic, critics of Rafferty and the department, which has come under scrutiny during the Read investigation, came out in force. Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, John OâKeefe, with her SUV outside a Canton home and leaving him for dead, but her lawyers say she is the victim of a police cover-up at the state and local level.
Rafferty was promoted to chief in June 2022, a few months after OâKeefeâs death, and has become the target of frustration with the police force as a whole.
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In November, residents voted for an outside audit of the department. Rafferty said she welcomed the audit, saying it will âend the wild speculationâ over the departmentâs involvement in the Read investigation, which many locals believe was biased against Read and deferential to residents who were at the Canton home in the hours before OâKeefeâs body was found on the front lawn near the road.
State Police led the investigation into OâKeefeâs death, but anger over the case has rippled through town politics, with many residents citing a longstanding distrust of the police department.
Tuesdayâs select board meeting included a vote on whether to extend Raffertyâs contract â set to expire at the end of the month â sparking outrage among some residents.
âThis business-as-usual attitude is beyond reprehensible and shows uncaring, unethical behavior, especially while our town is on fire. Change is needed yesterday,â said resident Elyse Cohen, according to a video of the meeting posted by Canton Community Television. âChief Rafferty should be fired, not rehired.â
Board members are responsible for acting in the interest of the town âand do not owe Helena Rafferty anything,â said resident James White.
âIf you think rehiring Helena is best for the town, youâre sadly mistaken,â he said. âDo something that is appropriate and save the town before itâs too late.â
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Despite the opposition, board members voted to approve a one-year contract for Rafferty following internal discussions among members, which did not include board member Chris Albert because of his connections to the Read trial. Her contract, however, was only extended for one year rather than the typical three.
Rafferty was cited in February for failing to yield to a 67-year-old pedestrian she hit with a town-owned SUV in Wrentham. The man, Michael C. Barry, was walking in the crosswalk while using his cane and wearing a reflective vest, authorities said.
He was injured and last week sued Rafferty in Norfolk Superior Court for approximately $211,000, according to court filings.
Barry âhas suffered and continues to suffer from severe and disabling personal injuries, conscious pain and suffering, economic injuries, and other injuries and damages,â the lawsuit says.
Rafferty could not be reached for comment.
Some residents directed their anger at Albert, a witness in the Read trial. Several residents called on him to resign.
âYou are a sad representative of this town, an embarrassment, a disgrace,â said Kristin Anderson. âIf you donât step down, shut your mouth and have your familyâs mouth shut as well.â
Readâs lawyers say OâKeefe, a Boston police officer, was beaten inside the Canton home where his body was found near the road. The owner of the home at the time, Brian Albert, is Chris Albertâs brother. Another Albert brother is a Canton police detective.
Chris Albert abstained from Tuesdayâs 3 to 1 vote. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Rita Lombardi, who unsuccessfully challenged board chairman Mike Loughran this spring, said âwe know we have a leadership problem,â and brought up his brother, Brian Loughran.
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She said Brian Loughran, a snowplow driver who testified at the Read trial that her supporters have nicknamed âLucky,â is âthe one hero from Canton who spoke the truth.â
âVote like Lucky Loughran,â she said to the board. âVote your truth. When it comes to the police chiefâs contract, please.â
After she spoke, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Aidan Kearney, the controversial blogger known as Turtleboy who has aggressively reported on the Read case, attended the meeting but did not speak.
Loughran, the board chair, said the board had received âwell over 400 emails from residents, and some not residents, regarding the appointmentâ of Rafferty and her contract extension.
âWe want to get through the trial. We want to get through the police audit and give her a chance to respond to what the audit finds and take appropriate steps to correct whatever the audit points out,â he said.
Patricia Boyden, who voted against a one-year extension, said she has âhad notable concerns about [Raffertyâs] leadership in recent yearsâ and that âbecause of the turmoil in the last two years, weâve lost six officers to early retirement or to transferring to other towns.â
âWe can hire an acting chief,â she said. âWe can find a strong leader, a problem-solver, from outside of town.â
When a visibly frustrated Loughran said the board was not taking public input, residents again began shouting, some using profanities. A police officer escorted one man out of the meeting after a few warnings.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
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