Solemn farewell for police detective

Tom Starner passed away Friday after 25 years with department

Hearts were heavy in Hatfield Township Wednesday night as the police department said farewell to one of its own.

The township commissioners held a moment of silence at the start of their meeting in memory of Detective Tom Starner, who passed away Friday at age 48.

“The funeral was earlier this morning, and while it’s always difficult to say goodbye to any member of our Hatfield family, it is especially difficult when that person has served us so commendably for the last 25 years,” said commissioners’ President Tom Zipfel.

Starner joined the Hatfield Police Department

in 1990 as a dispatcher and was hired as a full-time officer in 1993. In 2000 he was appointed a patrol supervisor, and in 2012 was promoted to the rank of detective and assigned to the department’s investigative division, according to his obituary.

Starner also served as a youth basketball coach. He was a member of the Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 14 and the Hatfield Township Police Benevolent Association, and a board member of the department’s Officer William J. Chapman Memorial Scholarship Fund. He is survived by a wife and two children, and Zipfel expressed condolences on behalf of the commissioners.

“At this tragic time, our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family,” Zipfel said.

Several police-related items that had been scheduled for the board’s May 10 meeting will now be addressed on May 24, according to Zipfel, including the swearing-in of several new officers and a recognition of a retiring officer.

May 10 is a dark anniversary for the officers of the Hatfield Township Police Department, Zipfel said, because on that date in 2005, Chapman passed away after an illness, and each year his fellow officers award scholarships to local students in his name.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of you, and our entire staff — not just the police department, but our nonuniform staff as well,” he said.

After the moment of silence, Zipfel thanked police Chief William Tierney and Township Manager Aaron Bibro for their leadership during the past week.

“Thanks for all of the heavy lifting the two of you have done, to make sure we continue to work as we always do,” Zipfel said.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Starner’s memory to Montgomery County Emergency Services Inc., 50 Beech Drive, Norristown, PA 19401.