Lawsuit Filed Against Karen Read in O'Keefe Death

The family of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Karen Read and two bars, C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grille, accusing Read of intentionally hitting O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in January 2022. The lawsuit, filed by O'Keefe's brother on behalf of the family, also alleges that the bars negligently served Read alcohol, contributing to the incident. Prosecutors claim Read was intoxicated and left O'Keefe outside a fellow officer's home, leading to his death from blunt force trauma and hypothermia. The lawsuit further accuses Read of inflicting severe emotional distress on O'Keefe's 14-year-old niece. Read's first trial ended in a mistrial, and a retrial is scheduled for January 2025.