Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 2 Transcript Charles Rae
Trial 2 / Day 10 / May 6, 2025
9 pages · 5 witnesses · 2,222 lines
Day 10 closes Lt. Gallagher's bruising cross-examination and brings three new witnesses covering weather conditions, Karen Read's overnight phone activity, and the SERT evidence search — all probed by defense for investigative failures and chain-of-custody gaps.
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Direct

Charles Rae - Direct

Charles Rae Hank Brennan
98 lines
Direct Charles Rae Hank Brennan
1 4:55:05

JUDGE CANNONE: I'll see counsel at sidebar, please.

2 4:56:11

COURT CLERK: Raise your right hand, please. [oath — garbled] ...the truth, the whole truth...

3 4:56:37

MR. RAE: I do.

4 4:56:41

JUDGE CANNONE: Good afternoon. All right, Mr. Brennan, whenever you're ready.

5 4:56:59

MR. BRENNAN: Thank you, your honor. Sir, could you please introduce yourself to the jury?

6 4:57:25

MR. RAE: Uh, yes. Good afternoon. My name is Charles Rae. I'm a lieutenant with the Canton Police. Last name R-A-E.

7 4:58:04

MR. BRENNAN: How long have you worked for the Canton Police Department?

8 4:58:07

MR. RAE: Uh, approximately 25 years.

9 4:58:09

MR. BRENNAN: And when were you assigned lieutenant?

10 4:58:11

MR. RAE: Approximately 10 years ago.

11 4:58:13

MR. BRENNAN: I want to go back to January 29th, 2022. Do you remember that morning?

12 4:58:18

MR. RAE: Yes.

13 4:58:19

MR. BRENNAN: Were you working that morning?

14 4:58:21

MR. RAE: Yes, I came in for the day shift.

15 4:58:24

MR. BRENNAN: When you first came in for the day shift, did you have any particular duties or responsibilities?

16 4:58:31

MR. RAE: I would have been a patrol shift commander for the 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. incoming shift.

17 4:58:37

MR. BRENNAN: Had you learned about an event that occurred at 34 Fairview Road?

18 4:58:42

MR. RAE: I had.

19 4:58:43

MR. BRENNAN: Were you part of that response or group of officers that went to 34 Fairview Road?

20 4:58:49

MR. RAE: No, I was not.

21 4:58:51

MR. BRENNAN: Your role that morning was unrelated to 34 Fairview Road?

22 4:58:53

MR. RAE: Correct.

23 4:58:54

MR. BRENNAN: At some point, did you learn the name of the person who was at 34 Fairview Road that needed medical attention?

24 4:58:59

MR. RAE: I did.

25 4:59:00

MR. BRENNAN: And what was that person's name?

26 4:59:02

MR. RAE: Mr. John O'Keefe.

27 4:59:02

MR. BRENNAN: Did you learn that Mr. O'Keefe was brought to the hospital?

28 4:59:06

MR. RAE: I did.

29 4:59:06

MR. BRENNAN: At some point, were you advised of his status? At some point later in the day?

30 4:59:11

MR. RAE: Yes.

31 4:59:11

MR. BRENNAN: While you're at the station, after learning about Mr. O'Keefe, did you make a decision to do something?

32 4:59:16

MR. RAE: I did.

33 4:59:16

MR. BRENNAN: Was it an order from somebody or did you make a decision on your own?

34 4:59:21

MR. RAE: I can't recall whether it was an order from somebody. I don't think it was an order, but it might have been at the suggestion of the former chief of police. Either that, or it just developed organically, but one way or the other we had decided that the right thing to do would be to do a well-being check of the home at 1 Meadows Ave., which is the decedent's residence.

35 4:59:41

MR. BRENNAN: Why were you doing a well-being check at Meadows Ave.?

36 4:59:49

MR. RAE: At that time, we were under the impression that there may be two unattended young children at the home.

37 5:00:04

MR. BRENNAN: When you decided to go to Meadows Ave., did you use a police vehicle?

38 5:00:15

MR. RAE: Yes.

39 5:00:16

MR. BRENNAN: Do you remember which vehicle it was?

40 5:00:22

MR. RAE: Canton 682, which is the supervisor's vehicle.

41 5:00:25

MR. BRENNAN: When you decided to go to Meadows Ave. for a well-being check, did you ask anybody to come with you?

42 5:00:35

MR. RAE: Yes, myself and Sergeant Lank.

43 5:00:37

MR. BRENNAN: Do you remember the weather that morning?

44 5:00:40

MR. RAE: Yes.

45 5:00:41

MR. BRENNAN: Could you describe it for us?

46 5:00:44

MR. RAE: There was a well-forecasted snowstorm that had already begun and it was starting to pick up intensity at that point.

47 5:00:53

MR. BRENNAN: At this point I move to admit the dash cam video from cruiser 682.

48 5:01:00

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.

49 5:01:01

MR. JACKSON: No objection. Is it 71?

50 5:01:03

MR. BRENNAN: Did you travel from the police station to Meadows Ave.?

51 5:01:08

MR. RAE: Yes.

52 5:01:08

MR. BRENNAN: Do you remember about how long that took you?

53 5:01:13

MR. RAE: A few minutes.

54 5:01:14

MR. BRENNAN: Who was driving?

55 5:01:16

MR. RAE: Sergeant Lank was driving.

56 5:01:18

MR. BRENNAN: And where were you seated?

57 5:01:38

MR. RAE: I was in the passenger seat.

58 5:02:03

MR. BRENNAN: Do you remember arriving at Meadows Ave.?

59 5:02:32

MR. RAE: Yes.

60 5:02:36

MR. BRENNAN: With the court's permission, I would show a portion of cruiser 682.

61 5:03:26

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.

62 5:03:31

MR. BRENNAN: Could you stop, please? Note: time shown on video is 8:23:10. Do you remember the time when you got there?

63 5:03:43

MR. RAE: I didn't make note of it mentally at that time, but I've since learned that. Yes.

64 5:03:52

MR. BRENNAN: Is this video that you have just watched consistent with your memory that morning?

65 5:04:01

MR. RAE: Yes.

66 5:04:01

MR. BRENNAN: The cruiser cam is showing two vehicles in the driveway. When you arrived that morning, did you know whose vehicles they were at that time?

67 5:04:17

MR. RAE: No.

68 5:04:17

MR. BRENNAN: At that time, did you pay any particular attention to either of those vehicles?

69 5:04:26

MR. RAE: No.

70 5:04:26

MR. BRENNAN: If I could show exhibit 10, please. Does that appear to be a still photo from the video we just watched?

71 5:04:39

MR. RAE: Yes.

72 5:04:40

MR. BRENNAN: And could I have exhibit 11, please? When you arrived for the wellness check that morning, were you working as an investigator in any way?

73 5:04:48

MR. RAE: No, I was not.

74 5:04:49

MR. BRENNAN: Did you happen to pay any particular attention to the right side of the back of that car that morning?

75 5:04:55

MR. RAE: No, I did not.

76 5:04:57

MR. BRENNAN: And is that photograph a closeup of the previous picture?

77 5:05:00

MR. RAE: Yes.

78 5:05:00

MR. BRENNAN: Does it appear to be a still photo taken from the video on the cruiser that you were in that morning?

79 5:05:07

MR. RAE: Yes.

80 5:05:07

MR. BRENNAN: Okay. You could take that down, please. Thank you. After you arrived at Meadows Ave., did you do anything?

81 5:05:13

MR. RAE: When we arrived at Meadows Ave., we went up — we walked up to one of the front doors and rang the doorbell, knocked on the door — anywhere we could see through, in plain view. We were just trying to see if we could raise anybody and see if the children were at the house.

82 5:05:32

MR. BRENNAN: Did you find anybody?

83 5:05:49

MR. RAE: We did not.

84 5:06:03

MR. BRENNAN: Going to ask to show 159. It's a portion of an exhibit that's already been introduced.

85 5:07:14

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.

86 5:07:19

MR. BRENNAN: Thank you. At this time, I've moved to introduce Form 19.

87 5:07:30

MR. JACKSON: No objection.

88 5:07:32

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Is it 72?

89 5:07:36

MR. BRENNAN: The first video — well, the second-to-last video you just saw — is that you and your partner arriving?

90 5:07:55

MR. RAE: Correct.

91 5:07:56

MR. BRENNAN: In the last video, who's in the doorway?

92 5:08:04

MR. RAE: I was on the right side of the frame and Sergeant Lank was on the left side of the frame.

93 5:08:25

MR. BRENNAN: How long did you spend at the residence for the wellness check?

94 5:08:37

MR. RAE: A few minutes. I don't think more than five minutes.

95 5:08:47

MR. BRENNAN: Thank you. I have no further questions for the witness.

cross waived Charles Rae - Cross waived
96 5:08:57

JUDGE CANNONE: Right. Any questions, Mr. Yannetti?

97 5:09:02

MR. YANNETTI: We have no questions.

98 5:09:06

MR. JACKSON: Thank you. All right. So, you are all set, Lieutenant. Thank you.

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