Local News

Canton police chief who took over in wake of Read case announces retirement

The town will initiate a search for a new police chief.

Outside the Canton Police headquarters Charles Krupa for the AP

April 23, 2025

2 minutes to read

Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty announced her retirement Tuesday, following a tumultuous tenure marked by controversy surrounding the Karen Read case and an incident in which she struck a pedestrian.

Rafferty notified the Canton Select Board that she will retire at the end of her contract on June 30.

Canton police Helena Rafferty *– handout*

“As the first female police chief in our town’s history, Chief Rafferty has been a trailblazer and earned the respect of her colleagues, town officials, and residents alike,” a statement from the town of Canton said.

The town says it will appoint an interim police chief as it engages a professional consulting firm to assist in a “comprehensive, nationwide search” for the next police chief.

Rafferty joined the Canton Police Department in 1989. She was the second woman to become an officer in the department’s history.

The town appointed Rafferty as police chief in June 2022, just months after Boston Police officer John O’Keefe was found dead outside a Canton home. His death sparked an investigation into his girlfriend, Karen Read, who prosecutors accuse of killing him by hitting him with her car. Her retrial is currently underway after Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial last year.

The case put the police department under heightened scrutiny for its handling of the case. An audit of the department, which came out at the beginning of April, found fault with officers’ handling of the initial investigation into O’Keefe’s death, but found no evidence that the local police conspired to frame Read.

The chief made headlines for striking a pedestrian with a town-owned vehicle in February of 2024.

In a statement released weeks after the incident, Rafferty confirmed that while making a left turn, she struck an older man wearing a reflective vest.

“This was an unfortunate accident,” she wrote at the time. “Upon further reflection and considering the amount of reflection and considering the amount of attention that has been focused on Canton, I should have issued a statement sooner.”

The story was updated to reflect that Rafferty was the second woman to serve as an officer in the department’s history.