Town responds amid fallout from officers’ text messages

The town of Canton issued the following statement last week in response to a newly filed lawsuit pertaining to the discovery of offensive text-message exchanges between former State Trooper Michael Proctor and ex-CPD Sergeant Sean Goode. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by Karen Read, names both the Mass. State Police and Canton Police Department as defendants and accuses both of employing and retaining officers who held bigoted views and whose biases made them unfit to investigate crimes.

The internal affairs investigation involving Sergeant Sean Goode was initiated after the town became aware of inappropriate text messages through the District Attorney’s Office on October 24, 2025. Upon learning of the messages, the town placed Sgt. Goode on administrative leave, opened an internal affairs investigation, and retained an outside investigator. However, the town did not and still does not possess the messages themselves. The town’s outside investigator was granted access to the messages in December 2025, subject to a court-issued protective order that strictly restricted dissemination of the messages.

The outside investigator was required to review more than 200,000 voice notes and text messages dating back to 2013. As part of the internal affairs process, Sgt. Goode’s union counsel was also permitted to review the messages in full. The scope of that review, combined with the limitations imposed by the protective order, made the process time-intensive.

Sgt. Goode was subsequently scheduled for an internal affairs interview but refused to appear. The town then initiated termination proceedings and placed the appointment of a hearing officer on the June 2, 2026, Select Board meeting agenda. However, Sgt. Goode tendered his resignation on May 29, 2026, effective June 2, before those proceedings could be completed.

Under Massachusetts Civil Service law, the town was required to conduct a full adjudicatory hearing before terminating Sgt. Goode. His resignation occurred before that hearing could take place.

The internal affairs report will be released when finalized and will be a public record, subject to legally required redactions. The report will also be provided to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.

Claims that the town knowingly ignored misconduct or failed to take these allegations seriously are inconsistent with the actions taken. Upon learning of the allegations, the town promptly removed Sgt. Goode from the workplace, retained an independent investigator, and pursued appropriate personnel action based on the information available throughout the investigative process.

The messages are abhorrent, deeply offensive, hateful, and do not reflect the values of the Canton Police Department or its members. The men and women of the Canton Police Department are entrusted with serving every member of the community fairly, professionally, and with respect. Preserving that trust requires accountability, transparency, and adherence to the highest standards of public service.

The town of Canton wants the community to know that allegations involving conduct that calls into question the professionalism, integrity, or impartiality of a police officer are taken seriously and addressed in accordance with applicable law and POST requirements.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Jun 12 2026. Filed under News, Police & Fire, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.