Philadelphia Police Department’s first DEI officer is fired

The Philadelphia Police Department’s first diversity, equity, and inclusion officer was fired Tuesday morning, shortly before the swearing-in of Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Mayor Cherelle Parker, police said.

Leslie Marant, who began her job in April 2022, was fired by then-acting Commissioner John M. Stanford at a 10:30 a.m. meeting, who said that Bethel would be restructuring the department and would no longer need her services, a source with knowledge of the dismissal said.

Marant, 57, declined to comment.

The Police Department declined to give the specific reasons for the job termination or to make Bethel and Stanford available to speak, citing department policy to not comment on personnel matters.

“Under new leadership, restructuring and realignment of an organization is common,” a department spokesperson, Sgt. Eric Gripp, said in a statement. “We want to express our sincere gratitude to Ms. Marant for her dedicated work and professionalism during her time with the PPD.”

The DEI office will continue and remain active under Bethel’s administration, Gripp said, adding that the department would announce an interim director shortly. A national search for a permanent replacement for Marant’s post will be conducted, he said.

“As this is a Police Department personnel matter, the administration has no comment,” said Joe Grace, a spokesperson for Parker.

Marant was hired as part of former Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw’s administration.

Before her time as the department’s DEI officer, Marant was former chief counsel to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, then-Commissioner Danielle Outlaw wrote in a 2022 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing the appointment. Marant earned a bachelor’s of science in finance and human resources administration and a juris doctor and master’s of law in trial advocacy from Temple University, the post said.

Marant did not have law enforcement experience before starting in her role as the department’s DEI officer.

According to a presentation by Outlaw in April 2023 posted on the department’s website, Marant’s role was to oversee the department’s DEI efforts at “every level of the organization” and develop plans to ensure that the department prioritized DEI. Marant had a base salary of $170,569, according to the city’s public database.

Staff writer Barbara Laker contributed to this article.