ELLENDALE, Del. - "Joe Say His Name! Cpl. Keith Heacook" lit up a billboard on Route 113 on Tuesday. North and southbound drivers can now see the message just north of Route 16 for 10 seconds at a time.
Jim Weller owns the billboard and says it wasn't his idea, though he supports it. He says he's not bashing the president, but that he's among many in the community who are disappointed in him for not acknowledging Cpl. Keith Heacook's passing.
"I think it's a good idea," Weller says. "I wish it was my idea to be honest with you."
Weller says President Joe Biden is the Joe this message is intended for and the Joe that Delaware wants to hear from.
"As a citizen of Delaware, he has not told the citizens of Delaware that he is sorry or remorseful that this has happened," Weller says.
Weller says he and others in the community want to know why the president hasn't called the Heacooks when he has called other families who have lost loved ones.
"I'm not even saying George Floyd's family didn't deserve the respect," Weller says. "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying is there any harm in giving the police officer the same respect you'd give a criminal's family."
Weller says the billboard has been leased for a month, but it could stay up longer as this community waits for President Joe Biden to say Cpl. Keith Heacook's name. Some say he's already too late.
WRDE reached out to the White House for comment multiple times and did not receive a response. Weller says local groups are making yard sign versions of his billboard to raise money for the Heacook family.