The best friend of slain Boston policeman John O’Keefe criticized Karen, saying it was disingenuous for her to claim she fought for justice more fiercely than anyone else, right after she was acquitted of his murder.
Another officer, John Jackson, expressed his disbelief at the accusations against him, emphasizing that he felt abandoned by Karen during a time when he desperately needed support.
“Really? Just how hard was she actually fighting for him between 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022?” he remarked on Thursday.
O’Keefe’s body was found frozen the following morning after being dropped off at a house party in Canton on that fateful night.
Some of O’Keefe’s colleagues voiced their frustration, suggesting that there was substantial evidence pointing to Karen as more culpable than anyone else, despite her being acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
Reed, 45, had been charged with attacking O’Keefe, 46, on January 29, 2022, after leaving him at a party. While her legal team argued that the investigation was flawed and she was being scapegoated, the charges were filed soon after the incident.
After her acquittal, Reed publicly declared that nobody had fought harder for O’Keefe’s justice than she had.
She also received a conviction for drunk driving and was sentenced to a year of probation.
Jackson spoke about how, just 12 hours after the verdict, he still felt oppressed, echoing his and O’Keefe’s family’s disbelief and horror at the outcome.
“It seems there’s more evidence pointing towards her than anyone else, and it feels like a missed opportunity for justice,” Jackson said, continuing to assert that Reed was present during O’Keefe’s final moments.
“She was there when he last moved in her car. If you think otherwise, that’s your choice,” he added.
The scene outside the courthouse during the retrial was striking, with a crowd of Reed’s supporters gathered to show their backing.
One supporter, wearing pink, even used American Sign Language to express love, which left Jackson incredulous.
“Is this really how you want to spend your Saturday?” he questioned, reflecting on the spectacle.
He noted that some of Reed’s supporters had been disrespectful toward O’Keefe’s family throughout the legal proceedings, which had stretched over three years and two trials.
Jackson suggested that this blind loyalty to Reed resembled a cult mentality. “It’s about belonging to something larger but supporting someone whose guilt seems so apparent,” he said.
As he reflected on O’Keefe’s life, he remembered him as an extraordinary man who stepped in to care for his orphaned nephew. “He acted without hesitation. That’s what makes him a real hero,” Jackson said.
