N.H. police commissioner resigns after calling Obama the N-word

A New Hampshire police commissioner has resigned after calling President Obama the N-word and then refusing (at least initially) to apologize for it.

Police Commissioner Robert Copeland resigned in an email to the commission’s chairman on Sunday evening, the Wolfeboro Police Department said in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times.

Copeland, who is white, was one of three elected police commissioners in the town of 6,083. He had just been elected to a three-year term in March, leaving local residents with few options for getting rid of him after his remarks drew condemnation from around the country.

A resident who said she had heard Copeland, 82, use the word in March complained to city officials, which reportedly led to Copeland confirming those remarks in a controversial email that has now been widely circulated in the media.

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

In response, last week Wolfeboro residents flocked to a heated town meeting to demand his resignation -- which Copeland apparently didn’t offer, as he sat with his arms crossed.

Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan and both of the state’s U.S. senators, Kelly Ayotte (R) and Jeanne Shaheen (D), called for Copeland to resign.

Adding his voice to those calling for Copeland’s resignation was 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who owns a home in Wolfeboro, a popular vacation getaway.

Copeland couldn’t be reached for comment.