Photo courtesy New York City Council
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and Oversight and Investigations Committee Chair Ritchie Torres released a Council Oversight and Investigations report on Nov. 6, containing substantial evidence pointing to the identity of an anonymous online persona responsible for “numerous and repeated unacceptable and disgusting online posts.”
In the report, they said the evidence reveals that the anonymous poster, who went by the name “Clouseau” on what was described as a vitriolic public online message board known as “Law Enforcement Rant,” appears to be Deputy Inspector James Francis Kobel.
They also said Kobel was the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), which is a sub-unit of the NYPD’s Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), and that this division of the NYPD is responsible for promoting “a fair, safe, inclusive and accommodating work environment for all members of the [NYPD]” and “for ensuring [the NYPD’s] employees are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.
In addition, they said the unit is also responsible for promoting a fair and inclusive workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment. Johnson and Torres said Kobel has held his position since May 2020, and his previous role was to serve as the executive officer (second in command) of the EEO for, at least, four years.
Kobel has been relieved of his command and placed on modified assignment, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Johnson and Torres also announced that the Council will hold a public hearing on the matter in the coming weeks. The entire report is available on the Council website.
“The abhorrent racist, misogynist, and homophobic messages, which our evidence reveals was posted by NYPD Deputy Inspector James Francis Kobel, are deplorable and intolerable. It is outrageous that any public servant – let alone the person in charge of handling harassment and equal opportunity at the department – would behave in this reprehensible and unprofessional manner,” they said.
“This Council will take immediate action to find out how this could have happened, what steps are needed to make sure someone like this is never empowered again in the NYPD, and to investigate the work this officer and his office has done in the past, all of which has been called into question by this investigation. I commend the work of Council Member Ritchie Torres and the staff of the Oversight and Investigations Committee for their vital work on this investigation,” said Johnson.
“The virulent bigotry of Deputy Inspector James Francis Kobel has no place in the NYPD, much less in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. The shocking nature of the misconduct revealed in this report would call for nothing less than termination,” said Torres.
Deputy Commissioner Public Information Richard Esposito provided the following statement to Norwood News, and after the Council’s findings were shared with the NYPD. “Deputy Inspector James Kobel, assigned to the Equal Employment Opportunity Division, has been relieved of his command and placed on modified assignment, pending the outcome of an internal investigation,” Esposito said.
“A report detailing the allegations was provided to the NYPD on October 14th. The report attributed comments made in an internet chat room to Kobel that included numerous instances of prejudice, sexism and intolerance. These comments were made using a screen name that provided anonymity to the person posting. While the evidence provided in the written report was circumstantial, it merited immediate investigation by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau. Deputy Inspector Kobel has cooperated with the investigation, but given the nature of the allegations and the sensitivity of his assignment, the decision has been made to remove him while the investigation proceeds.”
The New York Post reported on some of the alleged content of Kobel’s messages.
The New York Times reported on Nov. 5 that Kobel denied the allegations to his superiors, according to police.
Torres was elected to Congress in New York’s 15th congressional district following the general election on Nov. 3.
On Feb. 4, 2021, Johnson, City Council Member Vanessa Gibson, representing the 16th District in The Bronx, and chair of the committee on oversight and investigations, and Council Member Adrienne Adams, chair of the committee on public safety issued a statement following news that the NYPD had fired Kobel.
“NYPD Deputy Inspector James Francis Kobel, whose racist, misogynistic and homophobic language disqualified him from public service, should have been fired immediately,” they wrote. “The NYPD must work to bring real reform to policing, including fairer and more transparent disciplinary and accountability systems. This case, which was uncovered by the Council’s Oversight and Investigations Committee, illustrates the need for robust independent oversight into the NYPD, and its value in rooting out biased police officers.”
The statement concluded, “The Council will continue its oversight into the NYPD and is looking forward to hearings on its legislative package of police reform bills this month.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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