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Updated April 4, 2025, at 4:20 p.m.

Members of Harvard’s police union voted overwhelmingly to declare “no confidence” in Harvard University Police Department Chief Victor A. Clay, an extraordinary censure of the department’s leadership by its own rank-and-file.

In a Friday morning message obtained by The Crimson, the Harvard University Police Association announced that, in an anonymous survey given to officers, “34 out of 35 responders said they did not have confidence in the current HUPD Chief of Police’s ability to lead the Department.”

The same proportion of officers reported that Clay has not “managed the Department in an open, ethical and fair manner” or “shown respect and appreciation” for the work of officers tasked with negotiating a new contract for the union, according to the message. The HUPA’s current contract expires in November.

The message added that 34 officers also responded that Clay has not “fairly advocated” for improved working conditions within HUPD or “provided a consistent, stable and supportive environment for officers to maximize their ability to perform their jobs to the best of their ability.”

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that “University leadership has been made aware of the letter sent by Harvard University Police Association.”

A blank copy of the questionnaire obtained by The Crimson shows that it contained fifteen questions given to union members, many about department culture.

One question asked officers if they believed that Clay has “been an effective leader of the Police Department.” Every officer who responded voted no, according to the HUPA message.

The vote is an indication that animosity between HUPD officers against Clay, who joined the department nearly four years ago to replace longtime chief Francis D. “Bud” Riley, has reached a boiling point.

Riley retired in 2020 amid nationwide protests around policing. His departure followed a Crimson investigation which found yearslong allegations of racism, sexism, and favoritism within HUPD and prompted an external review of department practices.

Clay — who became HUPD’s first Black police chief in decades — arrived in July 2021 with a message of reform, calling on police nationwide to “change the culture within our departments” and pledging greater transparency.

He quickly shook up the department’s leadership: less than a year after Clay became chief, most of Riley’s senior staff had either been reassigned or left HUPD entirely and two new leadership roles were established.

But HUPD has still found itself under scrutiny since Clay’s appointment as chief.

A 2023 ‘swatting’ incident in Leverett House, where four Black undergraduates were held at gunpoint by Harvard police officers after a false 911 call, led to widespread outcry against the department.

And, as protests rocked Harvard's campus — and a pro-Palestine encampment was formed in Harvard Yard — HUPD found itself facing regular condemnation from student protesters.

But Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 opted not to initiate a police crackdown, and Clay affirmed students’ rights to protest peacefully in the Yard in an interview with The Crimson.

Personnel conflict has also bubbled within the department: a former HUPD lieutenant sued the department and Clay in March, alleging age discrimination and retaliation by the chief of police.

Correction: April 4, 2025

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Victor A. Clay was the first Black chief of the Harvard University Police Department. In fact, at least two Black chiefs of police — Saul I. Chafin and Paul E. Johnson — led HUPD before Clay.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.