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N.H. Police Commissioner Resigns Over Racial Slur

Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland listens Thursday as town residents ask for his resignation after being overheard calling President Barack Obama a racial slur at a restaurant. (Jim Cole/AP)
Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland listens Thursday as town residents ask for his resignation after being overheard calling President Barack Obama a racial slur at a restaurant. (Jim Cole/AP)

A New Hampshire town police commissioner has resigned after he admitted using a racial slur to describe President Barack Obama.

Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland listens Thursday as town residents ask for his resignation after being overheard calling President Barack Obama a racial slur at a restaurant. (Jim Cole/AP)
Robert Copeland listens Thursday as Wolfeboro residents ask for his resignation after being overheard calling President Barack Obama a racial slur at a restaurant. (Jim Cole/AP)

Linda Murray, chairwoman of the Wolfeboro board of selectmen, says that 82-year-old Robert Copeland resigned Sunday night from the post to which he was re-elected in March.

At a meeting last week, Copeland defiantly refused calls to resign.

The resignation puts to rest a controversy that drew national attention and sparked impassioned debate in Wolfeboro, a lakeside resort town of 6,300 residents.

Copeland admitted using an obscenity followed by the N-word while at a restaurant in March. A resident overheard the remark and complained to town officials.

The comments drew strong condemnation, including from 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has a home in Wolfeboro.

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