Jim Cole / AP
Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland listens Thursday May 15, 2014, in Wolfeboro, N.H. as town residents ask for his resignation after being overheard calling President Barack Obama the N-word at a restaurant.
Monday, May 19, 2014 | 11:09 a.m.
WOLFEBORO, N.H. — A New Hampshire town police commissioner has resigned after he admitted using a racial slur to describe President Barack Obama.
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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