Canton police officer, brother of Brian Albert, placed on leave after Karen Read testifies at trial

Kevin Albert, the Canton police officer who communicated with Massachusetts State Police lead investigator Michael Proctor during the investigation leading up to Karen Read’s murder trial, has been placed on paid administrative leave. “I can confirm that Detective Albert has been placed on paid administrative leave effective June 13 pending the conclusion of the investigation related to Trooper Proctor’s testimony in Karen Read’s trial,” said a written statement from Canton Police Chief Helena Raffery. The decision to place Albert on administrative leave was made by Canton city officials just days after Proctor testified in the Read case, which ended in a mistrial on July 1. Video from the trial: Defense questions Proctor about Kevin Albert. On the witness stand, Proctor admitted he was drinking buddies with Albert. He admitted that they went out drinking for several months after O’Keefe’s death, worked together on an unsolved case and communicated about coordinating aspects of the O’Keefe case, even as Canton police recused themselves from the investigation due to the Albert brothers’ connection to the case. Read was accused of ramming her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in January 2022. Kevin Albert is the brother of Brian Albert, also a Boston police officer, who hosted the house party in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found in the front yard. “You knew that he, more than anyone else, was to be kept away from any contact with the investigation or the investigators,” Read’s defense attorney Alan Jackson Proctor asked during the trial. “However, who did you turn to when you wanted to coordinate witnesses for questioning in this case?” Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, was charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the death of O’Keefe, a 16-year-old member of the Boston police force who was found outside Brian Albert’s Canton home. An autopsy determined O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma. Video: Mass. Trooper Michael Proctor questioned about inappropriate text messages A turning point in the two-month trial came when Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, was forced to admit and apologize for sending offensive text messages about Read to friends, family and colleagues during the investigation. Proctor, who has since been suspended without pay, also admitted to texting his sister saying he wished Read would “kill himself,” which he said was a turn of phrase and that “the emotions got the better of me.” He apologized for some of his wording but stressed it had no impact on the investigation. An internal investigation into Proctor is underway.

CANTON, Mass. —

Kevin Albert, the Canton police officer who communicated with Massachusetts State Police lead investigator Michael Proctor during the investigation leading up to Karen Read’s murder trial, has been placed on paid administrative leave.

“I can confirm that Detective Albert has been placed on leave with pay effective June 13 pending the completion of the investigation related to Trooper Proctor’s testimony in the trial of Karen Read,” Canton Police Chief Helena Raffery said in a written statement.

The request to place Albert on leave was made by Canton city officials just days after Proctor testified in the Read case, which ended in a mistrial on July 1.

Video from the trial: Defense questions Proctor about Kevin Albert

On the witness stand, Proctor admitted that he was a drinking buddy with Albert. He admitted that they went out drinking together for several months after O’Keefe’s death, worked together on an unsolved case, and communicated about coordinating aspects of O’Keefe’s case, even though Canton police recused themselves from the investigation due to the Albert brothers’ connection to the case.

Read was accused of ramming her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.

Kevin Albert is the brother of Brian Albert, also a Boston police officer who hosted the house party in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found in the front yard.

“You knew that he, more than anyone else, was to be kept away from any contact with the investigation or investigators,” Read’s defense attorney Alan Jackson Proctor asked during the trial. “But who did you turn to when you wanted to coordinate witnesses for interviews in this case?”

Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, was charged with second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of O’Keefe, a 16-year-old member of the Boston Police Department who was found outside the Canton home of Brian Albert. An autopsy found that O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.

Video: Mass. Trooper Michael Proctor questioned about inappropriate text messages

A turning point in the two-month trial came when Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, was forced to admit and apologize for sending abusive text messages about Read to friends, family and comrades during the investigation.

Proctor, who has since been suspended without pay, also admitted to texting his sister saying he wanted Read to “kill herself.” He claimed it was a figure of speech and that “my emotions got the better of me.” He apologized for some of his wording but insisted it had no bearing on the investigation.

An internal investigation into Proctor is underway.