When entering a new job, it’s important to make a good first impression. A newly sworn-in police chief forgot that and sent an email that now has members of the community calling for his resignation, Huffington Postreports.
Thomas Burke, the new police chief for the City of Farrell in Pennsylvania, sent out an email asking for donations to send books to a local parent-teacher organization. While his heart was in the right place, his judgment must be called into question for writing "Them Sharon n*****s gotta learn how to read" in the subject line.
Burke, who doesn’t start his new post until Jan. 1, made a public apology in order to quell the outrage. "To everybody here, to everybody out there, my deepest—I cannot tell you, from the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry. I apologize deeply," he said during a live conference.
Among the critics is Farrell city councilwoman Stephanie Sheffield, who toldErie News that she was "hurt and upset" by Burke's e-mail. "I just feel it was a negative response for our area here in Sharon and Farrell," she said. "I spoke to him this morning and I immediately said 'dismissal'."
Burke is reported to have visited the black councilwoman’s home to deliver an apology letter. He allegedly explained that he uses the word frequently because that's "just the way it is" in their area, according to Sheffield.
However, not everyone is up in arms over the controversy. Farrell Mayor Olive McKeithan, who is also black, toldWKBN that she "stands behind" Burke. "As the Mayor of Farrell and as an African-American, I stand behind Mr. Burke as police chief for the City of Farrell," she said.
