The Stanford Center for Racial Justice (SCRJ or Center) is excited to announce the appointment of Denise Chandler as the Project Leader for our Model Use of Force Policy (MUOF Policy) project, effective February 14, 2022. Ms. Chandler will work to finalize our state-of-the-art MUOF Policy and will report to the Executive Director, George Brown

Ms. Chandler is a lawyer and has extensive experience working to advance racial justice in public safety and policing. She served for several years as the Consent Decree Compliance Manager for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), where she implemented federal mandates required by the U.S. Department of Justice. She was integral in the administration of national best practices to ensure ethical policing by NOPD, including developing policies for bias-free policing and gender bias. Ms. Chandler also created NOPD’s Community Policing policy, along with tools for measuring and evaluating the field activities of officers engaged in community-oriented policing practices. Her work has been described as the most innovative approach to community-oriented policing in the country.

Prior to joining the Center, Denise was the Project Director of the Safety and Justice Challenge in the New Orleans Mayor’s Office. In this role, she translated the city’s goals to manage the jail population and reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system toward concrete policy changes. Her work had a profound impact, reducing the jail population in New Orleans by over 50 percent.

Most recently, Ms. Chandler was requested to reengage with NOPD on implementing its community policing reforms. After a six-month project that entailed creating new policies, manuals, and audit protocols, she was awarded the Superintendent’s Coin-Service of Excellence Award by the Mayor and the Superintendent of Police. She’s also a member of Dillard University’s Center for Racial Justice Advisory Board, the RAND Corporation’s Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy Gaming Advisory Group, and has taught a Relationship Based Policing Course to new recruit classes at NOPD. Learn more about Denise in the New Orleans City Hall Spotlight: Denise Chandler.

As the Project Leader for the MUOF Policy project, Denise will work to develop and implement the MUOF Policy—SCRJ’s model document that centers on fair, safe, and equitable approaches to the use of force. The MUOF Policy reflects community-oriented policing principles and aims to improve, strengthen, and sustain trusting relationships between police departments and the communities they serve. Most importantly, the MUOF Policy seeks to enhance both public safety and officer safety by prioritizing the sanctity of human life as one of its core values. It is designed for turn-key implementation by small and midsized cities, particularly those interested in adopting an innovative, 21st century policy for the use of force.

Denise will collaborate with our global law firm partner, Stanford researchers, law enforcement officials, policy experts, and grassroots organizers to finalize and pilot our MUOF Policy. She will lead the process to ensure a high-quality product, including facilitating workshops with stakeholders, analyzing relevant legal issues, organizing policy information from law enforcement agencies, and soliciting opportunities for candidate cities to participate in the initial implementation pilot.

It is with great enthusiasm and joy that SCRJ welcomes Denise to our team!