N.H. police commissioner won’t apologize for calling Obama the N-word

Dear New Hampshire: The 21st century would like to have a few words with you.

The residents of Wolfeboro are demanding the resignation of a town police commissioner after he called President Obama the N-word and then refused to apologize for it.

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

A resident who heard Copeland use the word in March had complained to city officials, which is what reportedly led to Copeland’s email.

On Thursday, Wolfeboro residents flocked to a heated town meeting to demand his resignation -- which Copeland apparently didn’t offer.

“I’m going to think about what’s been going on, and I’ll decide,” Copeland said when confronted at the meeting by a WMUR-TV reporter with a microphone. “Now get that thing out of my face! ... Please.”

Copeland and Town Manager David Owen couldn’t be reached for comment late Thursday evening.

According to the Associated Press, the town’s three-member police commission hires, fires and disciplines officers and sets their salaries, and since its members are elected, they apparently can’t be removed by the town’s Board of Selectmen.

Copeland was unopposed for his recent reelection to a three-year term on March 11, according to the AP.