Ken Berkowitz, who served as Canton’s police chief for nearly two decades, has died

CANTON, Mass. — Retired Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz has died.

Berkowitz, who retired in 2022 after serving as Canton’s police chief for 17 years, died on Saturday, according to preliminary obituary information released by Brezniak Funeral Directors.

The town will not be releasing a statement on his death at the request of Berkowitz’s family.

Berkowitz worked for the town of Canton as a police officer for three decades, retiring from his role of police chief in June 2022, according to a report published that year in The Canton Citizen.

A longtime Canton resident, Berkowitz joined the Canton Police Department as a patrol officer in 1992 and was promoted to sergeant and later lieutenant before being appointed the town’s 13th chief of police in 2005, the newspaper reported.

“To the police officers out there, you’re nothing short of amazing to me,” Berkowitz said during a July 2022 retirement speech in a video posted online.

“To the residents and the people whom I met during their darkest hours, I hope and pray that I was able to erase some of your pain, or at least, make it a little more bearable,” Berkowitz said at the time, in reflecting on his career in law enforcement.

Berkowitz was on the defense witness list in the murder trial of Karen Read, but he never took the stand. Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm.

Berkowitz was serving as Canton’s police chief when O’Keefe was found dead in a snowbank outside a Canton home. Read’s first trial for murder ended with a hung jury and a mistrial, and a retrial is scheduled for Jan. 27.

In June, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the murder case involving Read, testified during Read’s first trial that Berkowitz was with him near the back of Read’s vehicle in the Canton police sallyport video.

Berkowitz was actively involved with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and previously served as president of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, or MetroLEC — a consortium of 45 area police departments offering regional services such as crisis negotiation and SWAT, The Canton Citizen earlier reported.

Berkowitz was a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the DEA’s Drug Unit Commander Academy as well as its Group Supervisor Institute, the newspaper reported.

A memorial service is planned for noon on Thursday at Temple Sinai, 25 Canton St., in Sharon.

Remembrances may be made to Cops For Kids With Cancer, P.O. Box 850956, Braintree, MA 02185.

Additional information is expected to be posted at this website.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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