Canton Police Department

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Canton Police Department is the town force that fielded the first 911 call from 34 Fairview Road, processed the initial scene, and became the focus of the defense's conflict-of-interest case. The department recused itself from witness interviews: Officer Paul Gallagher testified that Canton PD stood down because "one of our best investigators' name is Kevin Albert — he's the property owner's brother — and we didn't think it would be appropriate." State Police took jurisdiction; Canton PD "assist[ed] them in any way we can." The defense argued the recusal was incomplete — that Canton PD personnel retained operational access that mattered. Karen Read's Lexus was held in the Canton PD sally port for three days before State Police processed it. Gallagher conceded that the sally port during that window was accessible to "the entire department" — roughly forty-five personnel. Canton PD's own dispatch log on the morning of January 29 contained the wrong street address, a foundational error Jackson pressed on cross. Brian Albert's brother Kevin was an active Canton PD detective, and McLaughlin, a Canton firefighter-paramedic first at the scene, was contacted via a third officer rather than standard investigative channels to meet Trooper Proctor at the station.