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Brown Reaches Deal With Police Chief and Appoints Hugh Clements to Lead Public Safety

The change puts a veteran law enforcement leader in charge of overhauling campus safety.

Overview

  • The separation, approved Tuesday in Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court, followed Judge Robert Ferrieri’s finding that Rodney Chatman did not prove a work-related injury.
  • The settlement’s terms are sealed, and the judge described the agreement as an amicable separation.
  • Brown named former Providence police chief Hugh Clements as the permanent head of campus public safety on Wednesday.
  • Clements had been interim since Dec. 22, 2025, after the Dec. 13 classroom shooting that killed two students and injured nine.
  • Chatman had been on leave since the attack and faced no-confidence votes from two campus police unions, as campus security grew tighter and drew mixed reactions from students.