Brown University announced on Monday that it had placed the school’s chief of police, Rodney Chatman, on administrative leave.
🚨 BREAKING: Brown University just put its police chief on LEAVE after the emergency response was horrifically BOTCHED, letting the shooter get away and kill an MIT professor
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 23, 2025
Trump administration is also INVESTIGATING.
BROWN MUST CLEAN HOUSE! Don't stop with him!
This was a… pic.twitter.com/RDAn66pvdy
“Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman will be on administrative leave, effective immediately,” the university said in a statement.
Along with the suspension, the university is commissioning an externally led after-action review, a move it says is standard practice. The review will include “a complete assessment and evaluation of campus safety in the period leading up to the tragedy, the preparedness and response on the date of the shooting, and the emergency management response in the aftermath.”
Brown will also engage a rapid-response team to enhance security ahead of the new semester. They will also be conducting an analysis of their campus security policies with an “on-site physical security assessment of the perimeter of buildings, access points, cameras and technology, and other infrastructure conditions, and will build on work underway to enhance security immediately."
Former Providence Chief of Police Hugh T. Clements will serve in both of Chatman’s former roles in the interim.
“Chief Clements is nationally regarded for his expertise in community-oriented policing, having served as director of the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the U.S. Department of Justice,” Brown’s President Christina Paxson said in a statement. “This underscores our commitment to clear accountability, leadership continuity, and a sustained focus on campus safety at a time when safety is a critical part of healing and recovery for our community.”
It has taken the university more than a week since the fatal shooting of two students to decide to suspend Chatman.
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