13 things about Boston, Massachusetts cop John O’Keefe

John Joseph “JJ” Rizzitano O’Keefe III was an American police officer from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He was of Irish descent.

O’Keefe is Paul O’Keefe and Kristen O’Keefe‘s brother. Kristen married Stephen R. Furbush.

BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in Braintree, Massachusetts, John earned his bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston and master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts. Ryan Rizzitano and Vanessa Rizzitano are his cousins.

John was buried at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He is John Josep O’Keefe Jr. and Margaret Ann Rizzitano O’Keefe‘s son.
2. He lived in Canton, Massachusetts and Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts.
3. He was an intern at the Braintree Police Department and an auxiliary police officer in Duxbury, Massachusetts and Falmouth, Massachusetts before joining the Boston Police Department.
4. In 1994, he graduated from Braintree High School.
5. In October 2005, he joined the Boston Police Department after graduating from the Boston Police Academy. 
6. In 2007, his sister Kristen gave birth to Kayley Furbush.
7. In 2010, his sister Kristen gave birth to Patrick Furbush.
8. In May 2013, his sister Kristen was diagnosed with a brain tumor. 
9. On November 11, 2013, his sister Kristen died.
10. On November 19, 2023, his Boston Police Department partner Pat Rogers committed suicide.
11. On January 12, 2014, his brother-in-law Stephen died of heart attack.
12. In 2019, he and Karen Read started dating.
13. On January 28, 2022, Read allegedly ran him over and left him for dead.

TIMELINE

John was 5 years younger than Read. After the deaths of Kristen and Stephen, John moved from Dorchester to Canton and became the sole carer to Kayley and Patrick.

2021

• On December 8, 2021, he turned 46.

2022

• On January 28, 2022, he and Read drank at C.F. McCarthy‘s bar in Canton with several friends. At around 11:00 p.m., they went to a nearby bar called Waterfall Bar & Grille.
• At around 12:45 a.m. on January 29, 2022, Read allegedly ran him over with a 2021 black Lexus sport utility vehicle and left him for dead in a snowbank after dropping him off at a friend’s house in Canton for a party. At 6:00 a.m. that day, he was found unconscious in the snowbank with skull fractures, swollen eyes and hypothermia. He was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Massachusetts where he was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m.