Ken Berkowitz, retired chief of Canton Police Department, dies
CANTON – Ken Berkowitz, who served as Canton police chief until his retirement in 2022, has died.
Ken Berkowitz death
The Canton Town Administrator confirmed that Berkowitz died on December 28. They did not release a cause of death.
At the request of Berkowitz's family, the town will not be releasing an official statement.
According to Brezniak Funeral Directors in Newton, Berkowitz will be honored on Thursday, January 2 with services in Sharon.
Donations can be made in Berkowitz's honor to Cops for Kids with Cancer. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 850956, Braintree, Massachusetts, 02185.
When Berkowitz retired in June 2022, the Canton firefighters union congratulated Berkowitz on a "long and storied" career.
Berkowitz was the head of the Metro Law Enforcement Council during his time with the Canton Police Department.
In 2015, he spoke to WBZ-TV about the challenges of being a police officer.
"You have to be a social worker; you have to be a psychologist, you have to be a member of the clergy, you have to be in good enough shape, you have to be cerebral enough to understand what the issues are," Berkowitz said.
Involvement in Karen Read case
Berkowitz was in charge of the Canton Police Department at the time of John O'Keefe's death in 2022. Karen Read, O'Keefe's girlfriend at the time, was accused of hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow after a night of heavy drinking.
Read denies the allegations and has claimed she is being framed by several people, including members of the Canton Police Department. Her first trial ended with a hung jury, and she is scheduled to face a second trial in 2025.
In the days after O'Keefe's death, Berkowitz found pieces of broken taillight outside the home where O'Keefe's body was discovered. He alerted Massachusetts State Police to the discovery.
Read's defense attorneys questioned State Police Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik, one of the lead investigators in the case, about the discovery during the trial. Bukhenik said he did not find anything suspicious about Berkowitz discovering evidence even though his department had removed itself from the investigation due to a potential conflict of interest.
Berkowitz was listed as a potential witness the defense could call, but he never took the stand.
