A former Massachusetts police officer who testified in the Karen Read murder trial allegedly spent years sending racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and homophobic text messages, including repeated use of the N-word and sweeping attacks on Black people, according to a newly released internal investigation.
The Town of Canton published the report last week after former Canton police officer Sean Goode resigned from the department.
Investigators recovered roughly 200,000 text messages, many of which Goode allegedly exchanged with former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the disgraced lead investigator in the prosecution of Read, a woman who faced murder and manslaughter charges in connection with the January 2022 death of her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
Among the most disturbing exchanges were repeated racist remarks targeting Black people.
The Messages
“They want to rob and steal. They love being criminals,” Goode allegedly wrote in one message. “Your only interaction with Black people are the ones that clean your house and cut your grass.”
In other messages, Goode allegedly blamed crime on Black communities and repeatedly used the N-word.
“I wish I had a lot of jewy friends. I wouldn’t spend money like a n—- on payday,” he allegedly wrote.
The report also documents what investigators described as a pattern of hateful conduct directed at multiple groups. Goode allegedly sent antisemitic, homophobic, and misogynistic messages throughout the years. Investigators found he routinely referred to women as “c—” or “sluts.”
“Not looking for a challenge… I like sluts,” one message states. “Nothing like slutty Dedham and Hyde Park chicks serving of wings. All-time slut.”
Town Responds
“The investigation documents a disturbing pattern of discriminatory, offensive, bigoted, and hateful conduct that is fundamentally incompatible with the values of the Town of Canton and the standards expected of every police officer,” town officials wrote in the report.
Officials concluded Goode’s conduct should permanently disqualify him from serving as a police officer anywhere in Massachusetts.
“Based on these findings, it is the opinion of the Town of Canton that this individual’s conduct warrants permanent disqualification from the honor of serving as a police officer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or anywhere else,” officials wrote.
Ties to Karen Read Case
The report stems from an investigation sparked by evidence recovered from Proctor’s cellphone. Data collected during the Read case and after the Massachusetts State Police fired Proctor exposed thousands of private messages that began rippling through multiple criminal investigations—some of those conversations involved Goode.
Goode responded to the scene after O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow at a Canton party where Read had dropped him off. Goode later testified during her first murder trial.
Read faced accusations that she drunkenly backed her SUV into O’Keefe before leaving him to die during a snowstorm. She consistently denied the allegations and argued that others were responsible.
A jury acquitted Read of the most serious charges during her 2025 retrial. Jurors convicted her only of driving under the influence after her first trial ended with a hung jury.
Canton placed Goode on paid administrative leave in October after officials learned about the messages. His texts gained broader public attention after Read filed a civil lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the Town of Canton alleging widespread misconduct surrounding the investigation.
The lawsuit describes Goode and Proctor as “virulent bigots” whose private messages exposed an “institutional rot at the very core” of both the Canton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Massachusetts State Police for comment but has not received a response.
