Part of Canton Police Department
The Canton PD sally port — the secured garage bay where police vehicles and seized vehicles are processed — held Karen Read's Lexus SUV from the morning of January 29 to February 1, 2022, when State Police executed a search warrant.[1] During those three days, Officer Paul Gallagher conceded, the sally port was accessible to "the entire department" — roughly forty-five Canton PD personnel.[2] The sally port became the physical stage for the defense's evidence-tampering theory, and two features of its surveillance record drove days of courtroom argument.
First, the sally port camera recorded a mirrored, left-right inverted image on January 29. The defense argued the inversion was never disclosed during direct examination;[3] Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik later testified the camera "had been recording that way prior to January 29th."[4] Asked directly whether he or Trooper Proctor had touched the tail-light area while the vehicle was in the sally port, Bukhenik answered, "We absolutely did not."[5] Second, a 42-minute gap exists in the video of Read's vehicle's arrival — the only window in which the tail light's condition at delivery could have been documented.[6] A 2023 statement by Canton dispatcher Kelly Dever describing Higgins and Berkowitz in the sally port added a further point of defense focus.[7]
“I would say the entire department.”
— Paul Gallagher
Gallagher concedes that all ~45 Canton PD personnel had access to the sallyport where Read's SUV sat for three days before state police processing.
“And yesterday, during the entirety of your questioning by Mr. Lally, not once did you mention that this video is actually completely inverted?”
— Alan Jackson
Highlights that the prosecution presented a mirrored sallyport video without disclosing the inversion, potentially misleading the jury about which side of the vehicle was shown.
“This video, Sergeant — you will agree — if that 42-minute period existed, that would have been the only video that would establish the actual condition of the tail light the moment the SUV arrived in police custody in that sallyport.”
— Alan Jackson
Pinpoints the evidentiary consequence of the gap — no video exists showing the taillight condition upon arrival
“Outside of it being a mirror image of itself, it accurately depicts any activity or action in the sallyport.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
Concedes the inversion while maintaining the video's substantive accuracy
“We absolutely did not.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
Emphatic denial that he or Trooper Proctor touched or manipulated the taillight area while the vehicle was in the sallyport
“It came from the Canton Police Department.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
The sallyport video was provided by the very department that recused itself from the investigation, raising chain-of-custody and conflict-of-interest concerns.
“I looked into that matter. It produced the fact that it had been recording that way prior to January 29th.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
Establishes the sallyport camera inversion was a pre-existing condition, countering the defense's manipulation theory
“Not obviously tied at the hip, but we were within eyesight, traveling together.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
Bukhenik accounts for Proctor's whereabouts during the entire sallyport visit, countering the suggestion Proctor could have removed taillight pieces
“Given factual information that makes it so I know I did not. So the answer is no.”
— Kelly Dever
Dever's current position that her Sallyport observation was a false memory, contradicting her 2023 interview statement.
“Did you tell those law enforcement agents on August 9th, 2023 that you saw Brian Higgins and Chief Berkowitz go into the Sallyport together and alone with the SUV for a wildly long time?”
— Alan Jackson
The core prior statement — placing Higgins and Berkowitz alone with the evidence vehicle for an extended period.
“That was my recollection at the time.”
— Kelly Dever
Dever confirms she made the Sallyport statement under oath-equivalent conditions to law enforcement, establishing the prior inconsistent statement.
“If you agreed with that statement here on the witness stand, you would be implicating two officers as having been in the Sallyport weirdly for a wildly long time with the SUV, implicating not one but two fellow officers. Correct. That's what you would be doing.”
— Alan Jackson
Jackson makes explicit the career cost of maintaining her original statement — implicating Higgins and Berkowitz.
“It's not in there.”
— Nicholas Barros
After reviewing his Trial 1 transcript, Barros concedes he never actually distinguished the sally port photograph from his on-site observations — contradicting his confident testimony moments earlier that he had.
“I know what I saw and that wasn't it.”
— Nicholas Barros
Despite conceding memory difficulties, Barros pushes back with conviction that the sally port photo differs from his observation — showing the limits of Brennan's impeachment.
The primary Canton PD sallyport interior surveillance recording capturing Read's Lexus SUV arriving on January 29, 2022. The recording as originally provided by Canton PD was mirror-inverted; a corrected (non-inverted) version was later produced and introduced by the defense. The footage shows Trooper Proctor's movements in the sallyport bay, including activity near the right rear taillight area of the vehicle.
A report documenting the August 9, 2023 interview of Canton PD dispatch officer Kelly Dever by a separate law enforcement agency, recording her account of observing Higgins and Berkowitz in the sallyport with Read's vehicle and disclosing her friendship with Sarah Levinson.
Canton Police Department key card entry and exit logs documenting personnel movements into and out of the station on January 29, 2022, spanning 167 pages and approximately 4,500 total entries.
Sallyport surveillance footage from the camera facing the right rear taillight area of Read's SUV on January 29, 2022. The recording contains a 42-minute gap from approximately 5:07 to 5:50 p.m., covering the precise window during which the vehicle was in police custody.
Canton PD sallyport surveillance recording from February 1, 2022, capturing the State Police execution of a search warrant on Read's vehicle, including the removal of the taillight by Officer Wanless.
Photograph of the right rear tail light of Karen Read's black Lexus SUV showing extensive damage including missing portions and protruding metal, taken at the Canton PD sallyport. Shown to multiple witnesses across Trial 2.
Four Trial 1 photographs taken in the Canton PD sallyport showing red Solo cups containing blood evidence inside a Stop & Shop grocery bag, positioned near the right rear quarter panel of Karen Read's SUV.
A timeline document shown to Kelly Dever at trial establishing that Karen Read's SUV arrived at the sallyport approximately 90 minutes after Dever's shift ended at 3:45 PM.
Security monitors in the Canton PD dispatch room showing internal camera feeds, including views of sallyport activity.
Flash drive containing Canton PD exterior surveillance footage from four camera angles — rear lot main side, rear lot cruiser side, church side exterior sallyport, and first floor corridor — dated January 29, 2022, beginning around 1:27 a.m. The footage captures Brian Higgins arriving in his Jeep Wrangler, entering the building, using a phone at 1:34 a.m., accessing multiple vehicles, and departing around 1:45 a.m.
Canton PD sallyport surveillance recording from January 1, 2022, predating the incident by 28 days.
Canton PD sallyport footage from the front wall camera for January 29, 2022. The original recording was dark; an enhanced version was subsequently produced and played for the jury.
Canton PD exterior sallyport surveillance showing the tow truck arriving with Read's Lexus SUV.
A still photograph from the opposite sallyport camera showing Read's SUV, an antique police cruiser, and an unidentified person, timestamped approximately 11:08 a.m. on January 30, 2022.
Photograph of Karen Read's vehicle taken in the Canton PD sallyport. A Stop and Shop grocery bag is visible near the vehicle.
Photograph of Karen Read's SUV in the Canton PD sallyport showing the license plate and broken tail light area. A white rag or paper towel is visible on the ground nearby.
Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive