An OPEN LETTER to Martins Ferry Officer Tim Starkey:
Congratulations on your reinstatement to the Martins Ferry Police Department following your termination in July. You admitted posting the racial joke was a “horrible mistake” and that you would “take it back if you could.”
Mayor John Davis backed you up, too, and that speaks volumes, but Jerry Moore, a Belmont County NAACP member, suggested you make your apology as public as possible. We have an idea about how you can convey the remorse you feel, too, and that is to compose an op-ed for the Martins Ferry Times Leader.
Your words are what people want to read and hear, and the piece would be printed and circulated to subscribers, and it would be published online for thousands more to read. Within it you could explain why you posted the meme and what allowed you to realize your white privilege. You also could express how you feel your mistake damaged the relationship between the people and the police and how you plan to repair it in the future.
If Chief John McFarland insists you’re an excellent law enforcement officer whose cases were always above satisfactory, we are compelled to believe your mistake was a mistake indeed. But Mr. Moore’s request should be fulfilled to the extent we are suggesting to win hearts, yes, but more importantly, trust.
Once again, congratulations on your reinstatement to the department. We look forward to the same with the citizenry.
Sincerely,
The Second Chance Society
