City of Farrell Names Police Chief After Email Scandal

FARRELL, PA--- He's now the acting Police Chief for the city of Farrell. Chief Jon Rococi steps into a position that recently garnered national media attention.
"Racial discrimination and profiling is something that has not been practiced here in the past," Rococi says. "It will not be practiced here in the future."

2015 ended on a rocky note for the City of Farrell. Thomas Burke swore in as Police Chief in November. It was a week later when an email surfaced where Burke sent a group message using the "N" word. He was let go shortly after after.
"I was  hurt because he said it," says Olive McKeithan, Mayor of the City of Farrell. "I was hurt in two ways because he wasn't going to be the Chief. He just lost everything."
The email was an action Mayor McKeithan says is inexcusable.
Michael Ceci, the Farrell City Manager, is the person responsible for hiring personnel. Ceci says there was a lot of pressure selecting the right candidate. Ceci admitted that he had to ask candidates questions about their personal lives.
Rococi served 20 years as a police officer for the Southwest Mercer County Police Department. Ceci says Rococi lives in Farrell, has children a part of the community, and is invested in the management and enforcement of public safety.
"We need a Police Chief that is going to go out there, work with the officers, that knows people," Ceci says. "Someone who wants to get to know people and work with youth. We have to earn people's trust."
"We want the people in the community to get to know the uniform and to see the police officer," Rococi says. "We have a tremendous amount of officers who already have a rapport with the community and that is going to help us reach our goal."

" I hope some good comes out of it for the community because we really need that trust factor," Mayor McKeithan adds.