In Canton, Massachusetts, there are yard signs that read "Please support the men and women of the Canton Police Department," and "Please vote No on November 20th." Others read "Remember it's all about justice for John."
The signs refer to Monday's special town meeting, during which residents voted for an independent audit of the police department over a controversial murder investigation that has drawn national attention.
"The people that signed this petition are not anti-police," said Sean Colburn, a Canton resident who supports the audit. "The reason why we started the petition drive is because since May or early June, we've been asking the select board to have the police chief come in to answer questions that the community may have."
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Many of those questions were prompted by the investigation into the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe last winter, and the murder charges against his girlfriend, Karen Read.
Prosecutors allege Read killed O'Keefe when she backed over him with her car and then left the scene. Read's attorneys allege that police are involved in a large-scale coverup.
"Anytime you have a person in a position of authority who may have abused that authority, it has a massive ripple effect in the community itself, because then we are looking to the authority people in our community, saying, 'Are you trustworthy?'" said Heather, a Canton resident who asked to be identified only by her first name.
She said the issue has been very divisive for the town.
"I think it's been really tough to be here, because it's — it's not exactly an issue we've been able to find a lot of common ground on," said Heather. "My feeling is anytime you have a bad cop, it directly threatens the safety of the good ones out there just trying to do their jobs, and it engenders a lot of fear in the community against some good people."
Gregory Murphy said he became more politically engaged because of the murder investigation.
"What we've noticed is that there's very few people that are deciding the direction of this town, and whatever comes of this, I hope, is something that will last, that there will be more people involved and care enough to show up to these meetings and at the ballots to vote for the policies that run this town," said Murphy.
He said he joined three town committees in the past several months. He also supports the audit.
"It's not an attack, and it's not intended to be an assault on the police. It's intended to see if we have anything we can improve upon," said Murphy.
"In my mind, the audit is the best thing for the town, because it puts everyone's mind at ease that we have a really good police department, we have an above-board select board, and I think it will be a positive thing for the town," said Canton resident Alan Rapoport. "Unfortunately, I'm going to say outside influences have really affected people's impressions of what is going on, but I think that's what the court system is for. They'll decide what took place that evening."
Monday night, 903 residents voted in favor of an independent review of the police department's policies and practices, while 800 residents voted against it.
In a statement, Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty wrote, "I believe that Canton has more productive uses for the funds to serve our town. Regardless, we welcome the review which will end the wild speculation about our police department and demonstrate to everyone that the citizens of canton should be proud of our dedicated officers."
NBC10 Boston reached out to the Canton Select Board and Town Administrator Charles Doody for interviews, but they did not respond.
During opening statements at the special town meeting, Select Board Chair Thomas Theodore told the crowd, "Over the past few months, I've been saddened by the fact that we as Canton residents have allowed outside influences with the intent of driving a wedge between us and our neighbors, along with the total disregard of the well-being of our town. The vitriol and hatred displayed on social media, the threatening letters, and emails sent to different people. The defacing of property. This has to end. This is not Canton, we are better than this."
"I'm hoping that once that case is decided and the killer is either found guilty, whether it's Karen Read or somebody else, that we can start to heal," said Murphy.
O'Keefe's body was found on a January morning in 2022 outside the home of Brian Albert, a fellow officer with the Boston Police Department. The night before, O'Keefe, Read, Albert and others drank at a bar before returning to Albert's home, where Read told police she dropped O'Keefe off.
Prosecutors said Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV and left him to die. She has pleaded not guilty, and her defense attorneys have alleged a large-scale coverup.
The high-profile case has since overshadowed everyday life in Canton. The divide was on full display Monday as residents argued for or against a police audit.
One resident who spoke at the meeting argued that there are already checks and balances in place within the department. Another countered that an audit would look at officers' compliance, referring to the current protocols as "self-grading."
Town leaders will now be working with petition organizers to create a five-person committee by Feb. 1 that'll be tasked with using up to $200,000 from the town's reserve fund to choose the firm that will conduct the audit.
It should be noted that town leaders said in its history, Canton has never had its community members vote for an independent firm to audit any of its departments.
