Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Photo of a police patrol car.

Officers leave DPS over allegations of sexual harassment and toxic work environment

Officers routinely made sexist comments. One former employee received inappropriate texts.

Photo of a police patrol car.

Editor’s note: If you have additional information, or a story The Herald should be covering, submit a confidential tip here.

“Toxic.” “Vindictive.” “Dangerous.” “A shitshow.” This is how seven people described the culture of Brown University’s law enforcement agency, the Department of Public Safety. Over the past few years, several employees have left DPS citing concerns about a toxic work environment and sexual harassment.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Herald investigation found a department where some officers say they faced harassment by colleagues based on their gender and sexual orientation. Officers also told The Herald that they feared retaliation from supervisors when raising concerns about the department.

The Herald reviewed text messages, photos and internal documents and interviewed seven people who have direct knowledge of DPS’s operations. The sources were granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“Brown takes any reports of harassment and discrimination very seriously,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark told The Herald.

“Maintaining a safe, professional and respectful workplace is an expectation of leaders of all departments at Brown, including the Department of Public Safety,” Clark wrote in an email. He said the University will investigate and “hold individuals accountable in circumstances where Brown policies are violated.”

The University previously conducted an investigation into DPS that found no violations under Brown’s discrimination and anti-harassment policy, Clark said, adding that the University’s investigation “covered allegations involving all the individuals” named in The Herald’s reporting.

But he declined to say whether the investigation addressed the instances detailed in The Herald’s reporting or if these individuals were the direct target of the University’s investigation or were witnesses for it. He also did not detail when the investigation was conducted.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Should the University receive any further reports about behaviors alleging violations of law or University policy, we’ll continue to take those seriously and to address those reports in compliance with law and policy,” he added.

Some male employees regularly gathered in the department’s parking lot, using rhetoric that some sources described as sexist, misogynistic and homophobic. According to those who heard these remarks, officers often disparaged female employees’ skills, commented on their appearance and questioned the masculinity of at least one gay male officer.

Disrespecting female officers became widespread in DPS, five sources said. Male employees often made sexual comments that undermined the female officers’ standing.

A former DPS employee told The Herald that an officer, Sergeant Kevin Pepere, began making advances toward her in May. She was granted anonymity for fear of retaliation that could impact future employment opportunities. “I enjoyed working at Brown,” she said. “But then everything kind of fell apart once I got a weird text message from one of the police officers.”

Get The Herald delivered to your inbox daily.

In text messages reviewed by The Herald, Pepere repeatedly suggested inappropriate behavior — making flirtatious comments about her appearance and ignoring the employee’s repeated attempts to redirect the conversation. After being told that she was married and not looking for any type of “fun,” Pepere again made an advance.

“I do have a wife too,” he wrote, “but I do get a FUN vibe from you.” In later text conversations, Pepere also wrote, “I like that we can talk ‘fun’ together.”

The former employee raised concerns about Pepere’s behavior to several officers, including Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman, who oversees DPS. She did not alert the University’s Human Resources department. “I didn’t want to get anybody in trouble because I just started working there,” she said.

During online meetings where Chatman and Pepere were both in attendance, Chatman asked the employee to turn her camera on, saying “we want to see your face” even though she had informed Chatman she was uncomfortable with doing so in Pepere’s presence, the source recalled.

The employee informed her supervisor, hoping it would alleviate the situation. Instead, she said her supervisor did not address her concerns. Shortly after, the employee was fired for looking up a coworker’s compensation — an action against University policy — which she claimed she was instructed to do by a colleague.

The employee was asked to sign a separation agreement, reviewed by The Herald, that prevented her from bringing legal action against the department except under very limited circumstances.

After discussions with her lawyer, the employee decided not to take legal action against the department. She told The Herald that her lawyer informed her that she had a case to sue, but she enjoyed working at Brown and did not want to jeopardize any future opportunities.

Pepere is still employed by DPS. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Chatman declined to comment, deferring any official comment to Clark.

Sources predominantly attributed their broader concerns over the department’s negative culture to Deputy Chief of DPS John Vinson, calling him “vindictive” and a “micromanager.”

Two sources added that Vinson would repeatedly threaten to fire officers when they voiced concerns to him.

Vinson declined to comment, also deferring any official comment to Clark.

Vinson, who previously led the police force at the University of Washington, stepped down from his role there in 2019, a few months after a letter of concern was sent to the UW Board of Regents regarding his use of intimidation tactics, according to an article by the UW’s student newspaper The Daily.

An external review commissioned by the UW that included interviews with 68 former and current employees of the UW Police Department raised concerns about the working environment. Staff said that Vinson fostered a culture of fear and retaliation with some describing him as a micromanager.

Under Vinson, UWPD employees feared retaliation, resulting in “a chilling impact on the willingness of employees to openly participate in decision-making,” the report reads. The report added that Vinson’s leadership style “likely deprived decisions of critical information from people close to the issue or problem.”

Several UW police officers reported they were the target of racial disparagement and harassment under Vinson’s administration.

A lawsuit filed by five Black employees alleging racism within UWPD also claimed that the independent report commissioned by the UW failed to “solicit or report on the views UWPD employees have regarding racism or racial harassment within the Department.” The suit also alleged that the review itself was sparked in part by complaints that Vinson “hired too many officers they believed to be unqualified” following his effort to hire more Black officers.

A jury awarded the Black employees $16 million in 2023 after a six-week trial.

The UW declined to comment. Change Integration Consulting, the firm who conducted the review, did not respond to a request for comment.

The initial lawsuit was filed in 2021. Brown announced Vinson’s appointment to deputy chief of DPS in April 2022.

Clark did not say whether the University considered the report when it hired Vinson.

Clarification: This article has been updated to better reflect the nature of the University’s external investigation.


Maya Nelson

Maya Nelson is a senior staff writer covering undergraduate student life. She’s interested in studying either English or Literary Arts and loves to read sci-fi and fantasy in her free time. She also enjoys playing guitar, crocheting and spending an unreasonable amount of time on NYT Spelling Bee.


Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2025 The Brown Daily Herald, Inc.