The police chief at Brown University has been placed on administrative leave as the institution reviews its handling of a tragic mass shooting incident that claimed the lives of two students.
Rodney Chatman, who served as the head of public safety, was relieved of his duties effective immediately, according to a statement released by university officials on Monday. His responsibilities have been temporarily assigned to Hugh Clements, the former Providence Police Chief.
This decision comes as the university faces significant scrutiny regarding its security measures following the December 13 shooting. The tragic event resulted in the deaths of students Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, and left nine others injured.
The shooting set off an extensive manhunt, which concluded with the discovery of the suspect, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente. He was found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in New Hampshire on Thursday night, just hours after allegedly killing MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his residence.
In response to the incident, Brown University President Christina Paxson addressed the community with a comprehensive letter. She acknowledged the heightened anxiety, fear, and stress that have permeated the campus and outlined the steps the university plans to take in the aftermath of the shooting.
School president Christina Paxson sent out a detailed letter to the Brown community acknowledging ‘the anxiety, fear and stress’ in the community on the back of the shooting and outlining the actions officials will make moving forward.
‘I understand the gravity of the concerns about safety that follow a tragedy of the magnitude that Brown has suffered,’ she wrote.
‘I want to assure you of Brown’s deep commitment to take every possible action to increase the safety and security of our campus, with the goal of protecting our community from future harm.’
University officials announced Monday that Rodney Chatman, the head of public safety at the school, was placed on leave effective immediately, and his day-to-day responsibilities were given to former Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements
Much of the criticism has centered on whether the Ivy League school had security cameras installed where the attack took place and the overall ease of accessing campus buildings
Paxson praised ‘the bravery, dedication and commitment of Brown’s Public Safety officers’ who first responded to the scene in the wake of the shooting.
She said there ‘is no question’ that their heroic ‘actions saved lives.’
‘These individuals in uniform continue to play an essential role in securing our campus in the actions we are undertaking to protect our community,’ she wrote.
Speaking of her decision to place Chatman on administrative leave, Paxson said a thorough and independend review is ‘an essential part of any recovery and response following a mass casualty event like the one that has devastated our campus.
‘A review like this is standard,’ she noted.
‘As it takes place, Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman is on leave, effective immediately.’
Clements, who is the former chief of police of the Providence Police Department, was appointed to temporarily replace Chatman as he is ‘nationally regarded for his expertise in community-oriented policing.’
‘He also is a former member of the Brown community after serving as a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs for more than four and a half years from 2018 to 2023,’ she said.
Brown University students Ella Cook (left) and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov (right) were killed in the mass shooting
Investigators believe Neves Valente killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro (pictured) in his Massachusetts home two days after he carried out the Brown University mass shooting
‘He will report directly to me during his interim leadership of the department.
‘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.’
Paxson said she had spent the days since the shooting writing to and speaking with ‘hundreds of students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni.’
‘The concerns our community has about safety and security are real. And I share them,’ she noted.
‘As we work to heal and recover, our primary focus is to nurture a thriving campus by attending to the psychological and social health of all members of our community while we also demonstrate that Brown is still Brown — a safe, inclusive, caring community of talented students and scholars and dedicated staff.
‘But this work begins with taking all steps to ensure that our campus is a safe place to work, live and learn. We are unwavering in this commitment.’
Much of the criticism has centered on whether the Ivy League school had security cameras installed where the attack took place and the overall ease of accessing campus buildings.
The scrutiny over the school’s security has led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which said earlier Monday that officials are asking Brown for information to help determine if school officials violated federal campus safety and security requirements.
Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in the Brown University shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, picks up a vehicle at an Alamo Rent a Car facility on November 17, 2025
Claudio Neves Valente, 48, (pictured) a former Brown University student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police believe he is responsible for the Brown shooting and murder of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro
This has included seeking security reports, audits, dispatch and call logs, and when emergency notifications have been utilized.
Meanwhile, hundreds gathered at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday to remember Cook, a Brown sophomore who was killed in the attack.
Neves Valente entered a study session in a Brown academic building and opened fire on students, killing Cook and 18-year-old freshman Umurzokov and wounding nine others.
Two days later, authorities say Neves Valente, who had been a graduate student at Brown studying physics during the 2000-01 school year, also fatally shot Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at Loureiro’s Boston-area home.
Neves Valente, who had attended school with Loureiro in Portugal in the 1990s, was found dead days later in a New Hampshire storage facility. Authorities say he killed himself.
An autopsy determined that Neves Valente died December 16, the same day Loureiro died in a hospital.
