Police chief who called Obama N-word resigns

A New Hampshire police commissioner who called President Obama the N-word has resigned.

A police official confirmed to The Hill on Monday that Bob Copeland, 82, has stepped down as commissioner of Wolfeboro, N.H.

His decision to resign comes after a slew of people called on him to resign, including 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and former Republican Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.). 

“The vile epithet used and confirmed by the commissioner has no place in our community,” Romney said in a statement to the Boston Herald over the weekend. “He should apologize and resign.”

{mosads}Romney owns a vacation home in Wolfeboro.

Copeland had admitted to using the N-word to refer to Obama during an exchange at a restaurant in March. Another resident overheard his remark. 

Last week, Copeland refused to apologize. 

“I believe I did use the ‘N’ word in reference to the current occupant of the Whitehouse,” Copeland said in an email to his fellow members of the three-person police commission, according to the Associated Press. “For this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such.”

Brown is running for Senate in New Hampshire, and also joined calls for Copeland to resign.

“Scott Brown believes Commissioner Copeland’s comments were reprehensible and he should resign,” Brown’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Guyton, said in an email to the Herald. 

As commissioner, he was responsible for hiring, firing and disciplining officers, and setting their salaries.

This story was updated at 1:56 p.m.