Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveCharles Rae
Lt. Charles Rae served as a Canton PD patrol shift commander on the morning O'Keefe's death was reported. After being briefed during shift change that an unresponsive man had been found on Fairview Road, Rae drove to O'Keefe's residence at 1 Meadow Ave to check on O'Keefe's two minor children. His testimony in both trials focused on the narrow scope of that well-being check — what he observed at the property, what footage documented his arrival, and critically, what he did not do: he did not inspect Karen Read's vehicle parked in the driveway.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 1, Rae's direct examination was split across two days (Days 6 and 7), with cruiser and Ring footage introduced across both sessions. In Trial 2, the same testimony was consolidated into a single proceeding on Day 10. The Trial 2 examination added an explicit question about the chain of decision-making for the well-being check, with Rae acknowledging uncertainty about whether it was directed by the former chief of police or self-initiated — a detail not prominently surfaced in Trial 1.