Brown University chief of police Rodney Chatman has been placed on leave, effective immediately, university president Christina Paxson announced in a letter to the school community on Monday, December 22. This comes over a week after a horrific shooting at the university left two students dead, and several injured.
Chatman was the head of public safety at the university. With him being placed on leave, former Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements will serve as interim chief of police.
What we know so far
A statement that went out to university staff and was sent to The Providence Journal by a law enforcement source revealed during Charman’s leave, the university has arranged for "an external after-action review" of the December 13 mass shooting. "The after-action review will be governed by a committee of the Corporation of Brown University to ensure that our response is examined thoroughly, objectively, and in a manner consistent with our responsibility to the safety and well-being of our community," the statement reads, according to the outlet.
It adds, "Hugh T. Clements, former Chief of Police of the Providence Police Department, will serve as Interim Vice President for Public Safety, assuming day-to-day leadership of the department.”
“He will also have a direct reporting line to the president during this period. This structure reflects the seriousness with which the University is approaching this moment and underscores our commitment to clear accountability, leadership continuity, and sustained focus on campus safety,” the statement continues.
The statement, issued by Sarah Latham, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at Brown, further says that this leadership update was "being communicated to the full campus as part of an overall update on safety and security in the wake of the active shooter incident, and additional information will be shared as appropriate." "We remain committed to communicating directly and transparently as this work moves forward," she wrote.
Who is Rodney Chatman?
Chatman, who was serving as president for public safety and emergency management, came under scrutiny after the horrific shooting at Brown University's Providence campus in Rhode Island, carried out by Claudio Neves Valente, killed sophomore Ella Cook and freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Chatman has been the subject of two no confidence votes since arriving at Brown in 2021. The measures expressed “deep concern” about Chatman’s ability to lead the Brown Police Department, according to the New York Post.
In fact, the Chatman-led department was called out in a statement for its “climate of fear and possibility of retaliation.” The statement also cited an “all-time low in morale.”
In January this year, a departing officer said the workplace was “toxic,” “vindictive” “s—tshow,” the Brown Daily Herald reported. The employee also claimed to be the subject of workplace sexual harassment.
Chatman was the police chief at the University of Utah just being hired at Brown, where he served only one year. There, he was accused of wearing a badge and carrying a gun before officially being designated a police officer in the state, which happens to be a crime.
It was later determined that these allegations were unfounded, but Chatman spent half of his year on leave, according to Fox News.
Chatman later sued the university, claiming they tried to push him out because he attempted to draw attention to alleged safety problems. However, the lawsuit was tossed out in 2023, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Trump administration launches investigation
The news of Chatman being placed on leave comes shortly after the Trump administration said it was investigating what happened on campus for potential violations by the university of federal law. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on social media, "After the horrific shooting on its campus, the Department of ED is reviewing Brown University to determine if it upheld its safety & security requirements under the law."
"The Trump Admin will fight to ensure recipients of federal funding are protecting students' safety," she added.
The U.S. Department of Education announced in a statement that its Office of Federal Student Aid "will investigate if Brown violated Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act, otherwise known as the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), which requires institutions of higher education to meet certain campus safety and security-related requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid."
The Department of Education’s statement further said, "In the hours after the shooting, public reporting appeared to show that Brown’s campus surveillance and security system may not have been up to appropriate standards, allowing the suspect to flee while the university seemed unable to provide helpful information about the profile of the alleged assassin."
"Additionally, many Brown students and staff reported that the university’s emergency notifications about the active shooter were delayed, raising significant concerns about their safety alert system. If true, these shortcomings constitute serious breaches of Brown’s responsibilities under federal law," the statement added.