The firm that will audit the police department in Canton, Massachusetts, in the wake of the Karen Read case has been selected.
Investigative firm 5 Stones Intelligence will be paid $198,000 — just under the $200,000 budget — to audit the department, according to a contract signed last month.
A representative for 5 Stones, who said it is still in the process of auditing the United States Capitol Police, told NBC10 Boston the Canton audit will begin in the coming weeks.
Two members of the committee, David Clough and Kathleen Howley, said Monday they were pleased to have 5 Stones working for the town.
"Parents concerned about public safety and taxpayers who want to make sure their money is being well-spent can rest easier knowing a highly qualified firm has started an independent audit of the Canton Police Department," they said in a statement.
But they also said the Nov. 15 kickoff meeting with 5 Stones will be private, which "will interfere with our ability to stay compliant with the article passed at the Special Town Meeting that called on the audit committee to report on the 'process' as well as the 'outcome' of the audit."
The audit process has been contentious before it even began. In September, tempers flared at a meeting of the Canton Police Audit Committee as participants discussed how to move forward with the review of the town's police department amid ongoing backlash over how it handled the investigation into Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe's death and the Sandra Birchmore case.
The murder trial against Read ended with a hung jury over the summer, and the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office committed to retry the case.
Prosecutors accused Read of killing her O'Keefe, her boyfriend, and leaving him to die in the snow in January of 2022. Read argued she was framed in a wide-ranging coverup, and the actions of law enforcement — including members of the Canton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police — have been heavily scrutinized since the onset of her trial.
The Birchmore case has brought even more attention to law enforcement in the town.
Federal prosecutors recently brought charges against Matthew Farwell, a Stoughton police officer, accusing him of killing Birchmore and staging her Canton apartment to make it appear she had died by suicide. Canton police found her body during a wellness check.
