DEDHAM, Mass. — The high-profile murder retrial of Karen Read cost the Dedham Police Department tens of thousands of dollars, as uniformed officers worked to maintain public safety for the large crowds of people who gathered day after day outside Norfolk Superior Court.
On Wednesday, Boston 25 News obtained payroll data in response to a public records request that showed exactly how much Dedham police paid in overtime for more than 170 shifts worked by officers and sergeants assigned to courthouse crowd control from the start of jury selection on April 1 through the moment the verdict was announced on June 18.
On many days during Read’s retrial, up to five members of the department were assigned to the courthouse, working shifts that lasted up to nine hours in some cases across the areas of Ames, High, Court, Church, and Bullard streets, the records show.
On the day Read was acquitted of murder and manslaughter in the death of John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, 10 officers working shifts of varying lengths were on hand to facilitate the safety of hundreds of anxious supporters who flocked to the courthouse to learn Read’s fate.
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When the verdict was ultimately announced, officers maintained peace as confetti fell and people dressed in pink erupted in cheers, chanting, “Free Karen Read.”
In total, Dedham police racked up $92,937.77 in overtime pay for 1,253 hours worked by law enforcement, the records show. At least four officers were paid an overtime rate of at least $95 an hour, while no officer earned a rate of less than $46.29.
Read’s highly publicized case drew national attention.
Prosecutors alleged that Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV, leaving him to die in a blizzard on the front lawn of fellow officer Brian Albert’s home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton following a night of drinking. Her lawyers painted a picture of police misconduct and theorized that O’Keefe was killed by colleagues, followed by a vast cover-up.
Read was convicted of drunken driving, however, for which she will face a year’s probation.
The 45-year-old Mansfield woman next faces a civil trial over a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed last year on behalf of O’Keefe’s family.
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