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Kevin Wilcox retired from the East Hampton Police Department last month, according to town officials, a week after the Associated Press reported that he had been a Proud Boys member who made online payments to group leaders.
Wilcox had been with the department since 1999. He was previously scheduled to leave his position later this year, according to reports.
The Proud Boys were established during the 2016 presidential election by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes. The Proud Boys are self-described “western chauvinists” who adamantly deny any connection to the racist “alt-right,” insisting they are simply a fraternal group spreading an “anti-political correctness” and “anti-white guilt” agenda.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law called for Wilcox’s removal from the police department after it inquired about his social media connections with other Proud Boys members.
Despite his ties to the Proud Boys, police officials noted that Wilcox has been described as “a dedicated law enforcement officer,” noting that “there is no evidence of any racial bias in any of his policing through his entire career.”
According to TIME, police officials reviewed the last 10 years of Wilcox’s career, and just three of his 60 arrests involved African Americans. He also made 21 traffic stops between Jan. 1, 2017 and Sept. 13 this year, and just one of the drivers was an African American.
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