Local News
The report presents a staggering array of crass and offensive messages, with Goode regularly using demeaning terms for any number of ethnic groups, minorities, and protected classes.
Sgt. Sean Goode, of the Canton Police Department, gives testimony at the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court in May 2024. Stuart Cahill / Boston Herald, Pool
June 29, 2026 | 3:36 PM
3 minutes to read
Canton officials released an internal affairs report on former Sgt. Sean Goode Monday, offering a stinging rebuke of the former police officer whose slur- and expletive-laden messages targeted a startling span of ethnic groups, minorities, and other protected classes.
“We warn that the language is horrific. Viewer discretion is advised,” town officials said in a statement accompanying the report from MJ Myers Consulting LLC.
According to the report, Canton’s former interim police chief first learned of Goode’s “concerning and problematic” messages around Oct. 24 as the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office continued to sift through texts sent by Goode’s friend, former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.
Proctor served as lead investigator in the January 2022 death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe and was a key figure in the subsequent prosecution of O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read. While Read walked free after her acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges last year, Proctor was fired by State Police following revelations that he sent vulgar messages about Read to family, friends, and coworkers.
Even after Read’s acquittal, data gleaned from Proctor’s cellphone has continued to wreak havoc on other criminal investigations and police officials linked to the disgraced ex-trooper — Goode included.
Across two group chats stretching back more than a decade, Goode sent a variety of messages, photos, videos, voice notes, and memes “expressing objectively racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and other offensive, crude comments,” the new report from MJ Myers Consulting found.
“The investigation documents a disturbing pattern of discriminatory, offensive, bigoted and hateful conduct that is fundamentally incompatible with the values of the Town of Canton and the standards expected of every police officer,” town officials said Monday. “Based on these findings, it is the opinion of the Town of Canton that this individual’s conduct warrants permanent disqualification from the honor of serving as a police officer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or anywhere else.”
Police oversight officials with the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission suspended Goode’s certification earlier this month, rendering him unable to work in law enforcement statewide. Goode tendered his resignation this spring while the internal affairs probe into his conduct was still ongoing.
Canton had placed Goode on paid administrative leave in October after learning of the troubling messages, but the extent of his communications only became public knowledge after Read sued State Police and the Town of Canton for civil conspiracy and negligent hiring, training, and supervision. Goode was among the initial wave of police who responded after O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow, and he testified during Read’s 2024 mistrial.
The new report released Monday presents a staggering array of crass and offensive messages, with Goode regularly using slurs and demeaning terms for Black, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ people, as well as individuals with mental or physical disabilities.
According to the report, Goode “routinely referred to members of his community, most frequently women, as ‘c—s’” and “consistently would send images of individuals with Down Syndrome after conversations dealt with topics of intelligence or making fun of people.”
In other messages, Goode appeared to discuss sleeping on the job, encouraged bribes, and shared sensitive police information with acquaintances, the report states.
“We share in the clear and obvious anger of our community members,” Canton officials said. “In any good and decent community, residents must be able to expect that a first responder answering a call for help will treat them fairly and with respect and dignity — full stop. This is not simply a matter of policy, but of basic human decency.”
They added: “The people of Canton deserve better.”
Document includes explicit language.
Read the full report on former Sgt. Sean Goode:
Former Sgt. Sean Goode internal affairs report
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
