Police chief resigns over slur
FARRELL – The chief of a new Western Pennsylvania police department resigned his job because of a racial slur he used in a fundraising email unrelated to his police job.
Farrell Mayor Olive McKeithan said she asked Thomas Burke to resign in a phone conversation. The mayor said the conversation occurred Wednesday, but she told the media about it Friday.
The Associated Press could not immediately locate a phone number for Burke on Saturday.
Burke, who is white, was sworn in as the city’s new police chief Nov. 17. He was to start the job in January.
The email was sent in April to about 20 people as Burke tried to raise money for a book drive. He used a slur when saying black people in nearby Sharon “gotta learn how to read.”