New York Police Department Deputy Inspector James Francis Kobel, commanding officer of its Office of Equal Employment and Opportunity, has been relieved of command after being connected to a series of posts on a law enforcement message board that officials deemed anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist. A user of the Law Enforcement Rant board called “Clouseau” reportedly used racial slurs to refer to two NYPD officers of color and referred to the city’s Hasidic Jewish community using stereotypes, among other slurs. Officials say information in Clouseau’s posts match Kobel’s biography, including his rank and when he joined the department, past assignments, where his in-laws live and the number of parishioners of his church who died in the 9/11 attack.
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