Authorities investigating death of Boston Police officer in Canton

CANTON, Mass. — In Canton, authorities are investigating the mysterious death of a Boston police officer whose body was discovered in a snowbank early Saturday.

Officer John O’Keefe, a veteran of the Boston Police Department, was found at about 6 a.m. Saturday in a snowbank on Fairview Road in Canton. The Norfolk County DA’s office said in a statement that it appeared O’Keefe had been outside for some time and that he knew the occupants of a home near where his body was found.

On Monday, the State Medical Examiner’s office performed an autopsy on Officer O’Keefe’s body, but the results were not made public. Members of Officer O’Keefe’s family asked for privacy as they visited the site where his body was located.

Massachusetts State Police and Canton Police spent hours at the site on Saturday as a massive blizzard struck, processing the scene and collecting evidence. Officer John O’Keefe is widely remembered for adopting and raising his niece and nephew after his sister and her husband prematurely died.

Boston Police Superintendent in Chief Gregory Long remembered Officer O’Keefe’s 17-year dedication to the department.

“Police Officer O’Keefe was highly regarded by those he worked with, his supervisors and all that knew him, both internally and within the communities of Boston that he served,” Long said in a statement.

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