High-ranking police official accused of racist message board posts retires from NYPD

A high-ranking NYPD official accused of secretly posting racist comments on a law enforcement message board has retired from the Police Department.

Deputy Inspector James Kobel, 50, put in his papers Monday, after he was hit with a 30-day suspension without pay while the NYPD probes his alleged posts, a police spokesman confirmed.

Kobel posted under the name “Clouseau” on the Law Enforcement Rant — a message board where current and former cops gripe about politics, police matters and the media, often using racist remarks and insults, according to a November report by the City Council’s Oversight and Investigations Division.

Newly sworn-in Rep. Ritchie Torres, who headed the division when he sat on the Council, said Kobel shouldn’t have been given the chance to retire.

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-deputy-chief-racist-message-board-retires-20210112-bp6townmjbf65o37kqqmf67ehm-story.html