Warren officer issues written apology to public

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Warren police Capt. Joe Marhulik

The captain supervises the dispatching and clerical staffs and handles grant writing.

Staff Report

WARREN — Police Capt. Joe Marhulik, promoted from lieutenant Monday despite admitting he called two men a derogatory term for a black person while off duty in August, gave a written apology to the community Wednesday.

“I am writing this letter of apology to the citizens of Warren and members of the Warren Police Department. On Aug. 16, I made a terrible mistake, and I deeply regret my actions.

“I have never made any excuses for my behavior and assumed full responsibility for my actions. I embarrassed myself, the city of Warren, the Warren Police Department and my family.

“I have been working to make amends to the people that I have hurt, and in that respect, I offer this sincere apology to the community at large.”

Chief Tim Bowers, who had suspended Marhulik without pay for two weeks, time he served by using vacation time, said Marhulik chose to issue the apology on his own — not because he was required to.

“He asked me if it would do any good [to apologize], and I said I didn’t think it would hurt,” Bowers said.

Marhulik spoke in the fall to members of the Trumbull County Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, which is composed of about 40 ministers from the county, most of them black, regarding the incident.

Some of the ministers and Thomas Conley, president of the Greater Warren-Youngstown Urban League, have said they forgive Marhulik for his actions but believe promoting him sends the wrong message to the black community.

Marhulik has been handling captain’s duties since the fall, and his new pay scale as captain was retroactive to Oct. 30. He will make $36.94 per hour.

As police support/operations division captain, Marhulik takes over the job that his superviser, Bowers, had previously held. Among his duties will be to supervise the dispatching staff, clerical staff and to handle grant writing.