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Canton Police Detective Kevin Albert disciplined for drinking on the job
Speaking to an independent investigator, Albert said he was joking when he sent a text about forgetting his gun in State Police Trooper Michael Proctor’s cruiser.
A Canton police detective whose family is central to the murder case against Karen Read has been disciplined with three unpaid 8-hour shifts after an investigation revealed he once drank on the job.
According to a recent independent investigation, Detective Kevin Albert drank on duty in 2022 while working on a cold case with Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who also served as lead investigator on Read’s case.
Previously:
Authorities have accused Read of drunkenly and intentionally backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, while dropping him off at a house party hosted by one of Kevin Albert’s brothers, Brian. Read’s lawyers allege she was framed in a coverup, and they say law enforcement was involved in the conspiracy.
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Read is slated for a retrial in January after her first trial ended with a hung jury.
Proctor — who admitted to sending crass messages about Read during his investigation — also came under fire for his alleged ties to the Albert family. On the stand, Proctor testified about working with Kevin Albert and acknowledged he and Albert went out drinking and “had a few beers” during their investigation on Cape Cod in July 2022.
Proctor also said he found Albert’s badge in his cruiser the next day and sent him a text. Albert reportedly replied, “Did I take my gun?” followed by a wincing face emoji.
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Canton officials later placed Albert on paid leave in light of Proctor’s testimony and launched an independent investigation. On Monday, Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty released the final investigative report, authored by attorney and former Winthrop police chief Terence M. Delehanty.
The investigation focused primarily on whether Albert misplaced or lost his service firearm and badge while he and Proctor worked the investigation in Sandwich. However, Delehanty ultimately found Albert left only his badge in Proctor’s cruiser, and that Proctor returned it the following morning. According to the report, Albert said he was joking when he texted Proctor about misplacing his gun.
What the report found
The report did, however, conclude that Albert violated department policy by ordering and drinking alcohol on duty.
Following an interview in Sandwich, Albert and Proctor stopped at a local Tree House Brewing Company outpost, according to Delehanty’s report. There, Albert reportedly consumed alcohol onsite and purchased several packs of beer to take home.
The investigators then made a second stop at a restaurant in Hanover, where Albert locked his firearm in the glove box of Proctor’s cruiser and left his badge in the console, according to the report. Delehanty concluded that a locked glove compartment inside a locked vehicle met the requirements for securely storing a gun.
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Asked about the dinner, Albert “said he did not specifically recall ordering a beer but acknowledged it was ‘certainly possible,’” according to the report. He also reportedly said he would “take full responsibility for ordering one to two beers.”
Albert did not request reimbursement from the town for his dinner, the investigation found.
As Delehanty noted, the Canton Police Department’s rules and regulations stipulate officers “shall not possess and/or use alcohol on duty other than in an authorized duty capacity.” By ordering and drinking on the clock, Albert violated that policy and displayed conduct “unbecoming an officer,” Delehanty concluded.
Earlier this month, the Canton Select Board said it voted to recommend discipline for Albert after reviewing the report’s findings. Board member Chris Albert, another Albert brother, recused himself from the hearing.
In a statement, the Canton Police Association said Kevin Albert “cooperated fully” with Delehanty’s investigation and has accepted the outcome. Albert is one of several state and local law enforcement officials to face scrutiny following Proctor’s testimony.
Proctor himself was relieved of duty following Read’s mistrial, and State Police later suspended him without pay amid an internal affairs investigation. The agency also launched investigations into other troopers linked to the case, announcing Monday that Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik has forfeited five vacation days after failing to reprimand Proctor for his inappropriate text messages.
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