Early retirement for NYPD anti-discrimination officer in “racist” message scandal

The former head of New York Police Department’s discrimination office who was accused of posting “hateful” online messages is reportedly to retire.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said that Deputy Inspector James Kobel, commanding officer of the Equal Employment Opportunity Division, had submitted retirement papers shortly after the department said that it was planning to suspend him.

Mr Kobel is alleged to have used the name “Clouseau” on a message board called The Rant where law-enforcement officials post anonymously. As Clouseau, he is alleged to have posted antisemitic, anti-Black, misogynist and homophobic slurs. Commenting on an article about Orthodox Jews tired of being photographed by tourists, Clouseau said: “I think that eventually all of the inbreeding may lead to the demise of these clowns. The severity of birth defects will only increase. Unfortunately, the local taxpayer is going to be on the hook for the bill when the children need special programs in the local school districts and the parents continue to leach [sic] off the system.”

The Oversight Division of the New York City Council identified Mr Kobel as “Clouseau”. He Mr denied the charge but was suspended pending an investigation, and has now resigned. The Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, had said that Mr Kobel should be “terminated immediately” if found guilty.

The head of Mr Kobel’s union said that Mr Kobel had retired to avoid a departmental disciplinary hearing, believing that, “given the current political climate”, he did not expect to “get a fair administrative trial”.

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