The head of workplace anti-discrimination efforts at the New York Police Department on Thursday was relieved of his post as the NYPD investigates allegations that he engaged in online hate speech, including blaming Jews for spreading the coronavirus.
The official, James Kobel, using a website where police vent anonymously, allegedly wrote a series of attacks on minority groups, including Hasidic Jews, black people, as well as other minority groups. When writing the posts, he used the pseudonym “Clouseau,” a reference to Peter Sellers’s bumbling inspector in the Pink Panther films.
Although substantial evidence in an internal report points at Kobel, he denied the allegations repeatedly, telling the New York Times that “despite my denial, it will likely end my career.”
The posts, which stretch over the course of about a year, are littered with a series of slurs. Some refer negatively to public figures with racist stereotypes, such as Barack Obama, who is referred to as a “Muslim Savage.” Others, however, direct vitriol at minority groups in New York such as Hasidic Jews, blaming them for spreading the coronavirus in the city.
The investigation comes amid a monthslong struggle between Jewish leaders and New York government officials over coronavirus restrictions on worship and schooling. Many members of Orthodox Jewish communities have alleged that orders and police enforcement specifically target Orthodox Jewish communities.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October blamed Orthodox Jews for stirring unrest by not following state and city mask mandates. Cuomo, who designated certain areas where there are large Jewish populations as “red zones,” drew backlash and lawsuits from Jewish leaders.
