Who is Brown police chief Rodney Chatman? School's public safety department placed heavy emphasis on DEI

As the Providence Police Department continues its probe of Saturday afternoon's Brown University wide shooting that near 2 dormant and 9 injured, the Ivy League school's caput of field information has maintained a debased profile.

Rodney Chatman serves arsenic Brown's vice president for nationalist information and exigency management, a presumption that makes him the school's enforcement manager of nationalist information and main of assemblage police.

His LinkedIn leafage says helium began his vocation arsenic a constabulary serviceman successful 2005 astatine the University of Cincinnati, and became a skipper successful that section successful 2012.

In 2016, helium departed for the University of Dayton, wherever helium became the enforcement manager of field information and constabulary chief. In 2020, helium moved westbound and became the constabulary main astatine the University of Utah. His yearlong tenure astatine that schoolhouse was marred by contention aft helium was accused of wearing a badge and carrying a weapon earlier officially becoming a constabulary serviceman successful the state, which is simply a crime. Those allegations were unfounded, but helium spent fractional of his twelvemonth connected leave.

Left: A constabulary conveyance is parked astatine an intersection adjacent transgression country portion astatine Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, successful Providence, R.I., pursuing a Saturday shooting astatine the university. Right: Brown University Police Chief Rodney Chatman connected an chartless date.  (Greg Norman Diamond/Fox News Digital; Brown University)

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According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Chatman said helium faced pushback for policing reforms helium tried to instrumentality astatine the school. He departed for Brown successful 2021.

In October, 2 section constabulary unions, the Brown University Security Patrolperson’s Association and the University Police Sergeants Union, issued votes of "no confidence" successful Chatman, the erstwhile expressing "deep interest among the rank regarding the absorption and enactment of the Department of Public Safety," according to the Brown Daily Herald. 

After a gunman, who has yet to beryllium identified and remains astatine large, burst into a schoolroom connected the archetypal level of the municipality school's Barus & Holley gathering connected Saturday afternoon, causing decease and destruction, field information has go a focal point. The schoolhouse has faced disapproval regarding the killer's entree to the gathering and a deficiency of information cameras that could person helped successful identifying the shooter.

Chatman has lone concisely addressed the shooting successful the days since it occurred, saying that 3 outdoor sirens connected the field did not activate during the shooting due to the fact that of however rapidly the lawsuit took place, according to the Rhode Island Current. 

Fox News Digital has recovered that diversity, equity and inclusion has been a large absorption for Brown's field information section and Chatman himself.

Emergency unit stitchery connected Waterman Street astatine Brown University successful Providence, R.I., connected Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the probe of a shooting. (Mark Stockwell/AP Photo)

"As we proceed to measure and fortify field information practices amid the captious nationalist statement astir policing and justice, we are acceptable to invited a genuinely accomplished person who is ideally positioned to usher this enactment astatine Brown," Brown University President Christina Paxson said successful a connection announcing Chatman's hiring. "Chief Chatman volition bring not lone an outstanding way grounds successful instrumentality enforcement, but besides the values, skills and experiences that volition alteration him to efficaciously prosecute our afloat assemblage successful advancing information connected field successful each aspect."

On International Women's Day successful March, Chatman, on with the full Brown Department of Public Safety (DPS), celebrated the department's pistillate officers.

"Today, on International Women’s Day, we proudly observe the unthinkable women of Brown DPS who service and support our assemblage with dedication and strength," DPS said successful a LinkedIn post. "A fewer of our officers stock what makes them astir arrogant astir moving successful instrumentality enforcement and their proposal for young women considering this career. Thank you to all of the women connected our team who make our department EPIC!"

A video was attached to the station with testimonials from pistillate officers.

"Look astatine our astonishing team!!!! Go BRUNO!" Chatman said portion sharing the post.

In a anterior station connected LinkedIn, Chatman asked different field constabulary departments to refrain from posting pictures of themselves with weapons oregon performing tactical maneuvers, suggesting that it could marque their communities anxious.

Law enforcement officials carrying weapons stitchery adjacent Brown University successful Providence, R.I., connected Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the probe of a shooting. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

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"To my constabulary leaders: delight see removing pictures prominently displayed connected your websites and promotional worldly of your officers engaged successful tactical maneuvers and displaying weapons. We each cognize you person them," helium said. "Consider displaying your compassion, and engagement with the assemblage that alleviates the anxiousness of our presence."

Brown DPS hosts listening sessions, wherever students tin bring their concerns to authorities, according to a webpage connected the school's site.

"Within the listening session format, students are encouraged to be to stock thoughts and recommendations into matters that person the imaginable to interaction police-community relations and field information programming connected Brown's campus," the leafage said, adding that determination are "many issues that are profoundly concerning to america all.

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"Students volition besides person the accidental to larn astir the department's Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) and to supply feedback," the leafage says.

In 2016, the field information section launched its Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), focused connected diverseness wrong the field information department. Those efforts proceed today.

A divided representation showing aggregate inactive frames from the surveillance video taken adjacent Brown University of a idiosyncratic of involvement earlier and aft a schoolhouse shooting Saturday. (FBI Boston)

"Public Safety is committed to achieving a divers workplace that supports the divers assemblage wrong Brown University," a Brown webpage says. "We recognize that having a divers radical of unit volition person the capableness to foster spot with the assemblage we service arsenic good arsenic to pass and enrich our organizational climate."

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In 2017, DPS brought successful a transgender academic, who goes lone by Dr. Scout, to pb a three-day diverseness store connected "cultural competency and assemblage engagement (LGBTQ, transgender, divers populations), wellness disparities, information collection, connection tips, stigma and however it affects lives, trends, and strategies to heighten work wrong these communities."

In fact, DPS has a diverseness connection featured prominently connected 1 of its Brown webpages.

"We marque each effort to anticipate, program for, and respond to the needs of our divers and ever-changing community. We question the input and talents of each members of the University and our efforts to safeguard the campus," it says.

"Public Safety works diligently to physique and prolong spot and affirmative relationships with the divers assemblage we service astatine Brown," says different DPS page. "As communities each crossed the state proceed to woody with radical unrest and constabulary reform, we enactment the University's impulse to face radical injustice. We besides admit that determination is ever country for betterment wrong our organization. We volition proceed to enactment towards our committedness successful establishing and gathering affirmative and respectful assemblage relations, particularly with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)."

A bouquet of flowers rests connected snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, connected the field of Brown University not acold from wherever a shooting took place, successful Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Fox News contributor Nicole Parker blasted Brown for its absorption connected DEI.

"For astir 10 years erstwhile the DEI programme was initiated astatine Brown, it seems that diverseness was a higher priority than field information and present the assemblage and its students are near picking up the pieces of their lethal failure," she said. "Woke does not enactment erstwhile it comes to field safety! And sadly, 2 guiltless students person mislaid their lives."

Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek nationalist who had been surviving successful Virginia, were killed successful Saturday's attack.

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Brown officials pointed Fox News Digital to a Monday connection astir the tragedy, which includes a database of enhanced information measures, successful effect to an enquiry astir DEI and field safety.

Chatman did not instrumentality a petition for comment.