Karen Read witness who testified to having ‘false memory’ resigns from Boston Police Department

Kelly Dever a controversial witness in the Karen Read murder retrial who testified to having a false memory has resigned from the Boston Police Department Dever s resignation became effective on Sept according to a personnel order the department just distributed The order does not detail the circumstances of the officer s departure The resignation of Police Officer Kelly Dever ID assigned to BAT Leave of Absence Section Org after being presented is hereby effective September the order states Dever who earned in total pay last year per city payroll records did not testify in the first Read murder trial Her testimony in the retrial this past spring though cast doubt on her truthfulness Dever was working as a patrol officer in Canton when Read s Boston police officer boyfriend John O Keefe died in the early morning of Jan Read s defense attorney Alan Jackson brought Dever to the stand questioning her over how she initially narrated federal investigators that she saw witness Brian Higgins and then-Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz enter the police department garage and spend a wildly long time with Read s SUV This gave credence to the defense s theory that police tampered with the evidence including the busted taillight pieces of which were later revealed at the crime scene at Fairview Road Dever disclosed she later recanted this declaration as a false memory after being shown a timeline of events that proved that it wasn t doable In a letter to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox Jackson demanded that the department place Dever on its Brady list which tracks officers whose credibility has been hit due to alleged misconduct Jackson disclosed Dever s false memory claim irreparably compromised her credibility as an officer The attorney mentioned that the department would have had to disclose information surrounding the assertion for future cases in which she is a witness Her reports statements and testimony can no longer be presumed accurate and any occurrence current or prior involving Officer Dever must be reviewed accordingly Jackson wrote in the letter this summer In either incident he added her credibility and reliability as a law enforcement officer are irreparably compromised If she lied under oath Officer Dever is guilty of perjury If she truly suffers from false memories she is unfit to serve as a police officer Read had faced up to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder the top-level offense charged against her She was also charged with manslaughter while operating a motor van under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death Prosecutors accused Read of backing up into O Keefe her boyfriend of two years with her SUV leaving him to freeze and die on the front yard of a Canton home where the pair was supposed to continue a night out after the bars closed that cold snowy early January morning The jury cleared Read of killing O Keefe charging her with just drunken driving Dever s testimony also led to Cox facing backlash as the BPD commissioner In July he reported reporters that he didn t know that one of his officers was associated with the Karen Read incident contradicting his subordinate who testified in the retrial that he notified her to tell the truth up here Cox also mentioned he had nothing to do with Karen Read denying accusations from the defense that he influenced Dever s testimony During her direct examination Dever testified that Cox called her into his office and that the commissioner informed her the department would aid her and to tell the truth As a matter of fact I didn t even know this person was associated with the Karen Read event Cox stated of Dever You know I have an organization full of over people and we endorsement all our folks And the reality is that I get information passed on whether those people are high or low and I encourage everyone the commissioner added And if you re going to work here and you belong here then we re going to encourage you I have no idea what they re talking about with Karen Read