A Pennsylvania police chief has stepped down from his post after making a racial slur in an email unrelated to his police work.
The email in question regarded a literacy fund raiser sponsored by an elementary school in the nearby city of Sharon, where Burke previously held the post of police chief before retiring in 2007. In the email, he wrote that black people “gotta learn how to read” before forwarding it to 40 people.
Burke was sworn in on Nov. 17. He was to start work on Tuesday in order to get the department fully operational by Jan. 1, before the regional department which oversees Farrell disbands.
Burke admitted making the remark during a public apology on Monday, where he expressed he was “truly sorry.”
Mayor McKeithan, who is black along with roughly half the population of Farrell, said she had initially agreed to keep the white police chief on board.
"I have known and worked with him for many years and respect and admire his dedication to the community," McKeithan wrote in a previous statement of support. "Until you get to know a man's character, you can't judge him by one off-the-cuff remark, or else would we not have to judge all white people as equally guilty?"
After speaking with other officials, however, she decided his resignation would be best for the community.
Burke agreed.
