Officials announced the next chief of the GW Police Department on Wednesday, permanently filling the role after officers’ reports of safety violations last fall led to the former chief’s resignation and triggered an investigation into the department’s arming rollout.
Victor Brito — who has held various leadership positions at police departments across the Washington metropolitan area over the last thirty years — will take the helm on Aug. 4, capping off a nationwide search and replacing interim police chief Ian Greenlee, who has served in the position since former GWPD Chief James Tate’s October resignation. Brito will inherit the department following high staff turnover and reports from former officers of firearms policy violations and insufficient training during the University’s controversial arming rollout, which directly preceded Tate’s resignation and were largely confirmed by a third-party investigation months later.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to shape campus safety rooted in trust, partnership and transparency. I am looking forward to working in collaboration with all of you to ensure a safe, resilient community,” Brito said in the release.
Brito served for six years as the chief of police in Rockville, Maryland until November 2024, where he created and updated community policing policies for the 100-person department. He stepped down in November, but the release does not cite a reason. He also served as the chief of police in Hagerstown, Maryland and in various roles at the Metropolitan Police Department, where he finished as assistant district commander of the Seventh District, according to the University release.
He hopes to build community trust, support the department’s workforce, maintain the University’s campus safety, oversee departmental compliance and training and champion equity, inclusion and “procedural justice” in accordance with objectives outlined by GW’s Division of Safety and Operations, the release states.
A Hatchet investigation in September found that departmental safety concerns during the arming rollout — which the Board of Trustees directed in 2023 and sparked protests and letters of opposition from community members — prompted several officers to leave the department. The University later conducted a third-party investigation into the rollout, which confirmed former officers’ reports and found that GW elected not to seek community feedback before the Board of Trustees directed GWPD to arm about 20 officers in April 2023 because they expected opposition to the decision.
Faculty senators at a March meeting after officials released the investigation’s findings said they felt “deceived” by the limited information shared with them about the Board of Trustees’ decision-making process. At the meeting, University President Ellen Granberg said the Board would likely not reconsider the arming decision, but they are not considering arming additional officers.
“Not only was there not the consultation that people would have liked, not only was a decision different than many people might have wanted but actually we were not told in honesty about how the decision process was being made,” said Ilana Feldman, the Faculty Senate’s former executive committee chair and a professor of anthropology, at the March meeting.
Student leaders and faculty said in April that they wanted the next chief to rebuild campus trust after the lapse in community engagement by meeting consistently with students and faculty and bolstering officer training.
“We’re not going to move forward if we don’t acknowledge the past mistakes with the officers, with arming them, that whole process, that debacle that led to Chief Tate’s departure,” Student Government Association President Ethan Lynne told the Hatchet in April. “I don’t think that those mistakes could be really rectified if they are not first acknowledged.”
Community members in April said they wanted the next chief to have experience working in urban or campus environments similar to GW, to focus on officer deescalation and mental health training and acknowledge the department’s past mistakes surrounding the arming decision and poor training.
Brito has experience policing urban areas, but this role would be his first role in a campus police force, according to the release.
Brito earned an undergraduate and master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, according to the release. From 2014 to 2022, he also taught undergraduate criminal justice courses at American University. He also earned certification from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and Secret Security clearance from the Department of Homeland Security, per the release.
“With his extensive experience in law enforcement and understanding of the higher education environment, Chief Brito brings both the expertise and collaborative spirit needed to strengthen campus safety and foster trust,” Granberg said in the release.
Police executive search firm Public Sector Search & Consulting led the search, which University officials previously said would gather “broad input” from community members on GWPD’s next permanent leader.
Officials required candidates for chief to meet with University leadership, a union representing GWPD officers, members of the Campus Safety Advisory Committee, the Campus Safety’s Student Advisory Board and the GW Emergency Medical Response Group during the interview process, an April release states.
Top officials like Dean of Students Colette Coleman, interim Title IX Director Asha Reynolds, Director of Conflict Education and Student Accountability Christy Anthony, Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Jordan West, Chief of Staff Scott Mory and Director of the Office of Advocacy and Support Elisa Davoodi, met with the search firm to inform a “recruitment brochure” to attract candidates for chief. Officials also asked former SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald, GWPD’s Union President Ilia Chakiashvili, three faculty members and GWPD’s top six officers to provide input.
“I am confident that his experience and deep local roots will strengthen the department and enhance safety in our community,” said Katie McDonald, GW’s inaugural associate vice president for campus safety. Officials created the position in accordance with the third-party report’s recommendations.
Granberg said in March officials are considering implementing recommendations for GWPD issued by the law firm that investigated the department’s mishandling, including moving campus security services under GWPD and adding a mental health response team, rapid response unit and dedicated training officer. Faculty Senators praised Granberg for being transparent about the investigation’s findings, but said officials should continue to seek feedback from the community and potentially reconsider arming officers.
