‘ABHORRENT’

NYPD Anti-Harassment Head Accused of Posting Hundreds of Racist Messages Online

City investigators allege Deputy Inspector James F. Kobel referred to Obama as a “Muslim savage” and the Bronx’s Black district attorney as “a gap-toothed wildebeest.”

NYPD Deputy Inspector James F. Kobel, whose job was to fight against workplace harassment, is under investigation for allegedly posting hundreds of racist messages under an anonymous moniker in an online chat board, according to The New York Times. User “Clouseau” called the Bronx’s Black district attorney, Darcel D. Clark, “a gap-toothed wildebeest” and referred to former President Barack Obama as a “Muslim savage,” among many other racist attacks on the Rant, a chat board where NYPD officers have posted secret complaints about their jobs for more than 20 years. Police investigators linked Kobel to “Clouseau” after finding a copy of the user’s profile photo on his cell phone, but the NYPD official has denied being behind the posts.

Councilman Ritchie Torres, who oversees the City Council’s Oversight and Investigations Division, said that his team found striking amounts of shared evidence between “Clouseau” and Kobel. “This is abhorrent behavior,” Richard Esposito , the deputy commissioner of public information, Rsaid. “Whoever wrote these posts has stained the reputation of the Police Department and its tens of thousands of honorable officers and civilians.” The inspector has been removed from his position while the investigation continues.