RaShall M. Brackney

Prior to her appointment as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Practice at George Mason University, Dr. RaShall M. Brackney retired from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police with more than 30 years of service. Dr Brackney also served as the Chief of Police for George Washington University and Charlottesville, Virginia after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally.

Dr. Brackney is a recognized expert in the areas of harm reduction, procedural and restorative justice practices, and community-police relations. Her teaching and research interests focuses on police legitimacy, transparency, and discretion, as well as deconstructing and dismantling institutions of supremacy. Due to her work in these areas, along with her work in social and racial justice, Dr. Brackney was granted a fellowship to Carnegie-Mellon University’s Institute for Politics and Strategy and Harvard University as an Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow (2024). Dr. Brackney specializes in the influence of race on politics and policy and is currently working on a manuscript entitled, “The Bruising of America—When Black, White and Blue Collide.”

Dr. Brackney earned her bachelors and master’s degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and a Ph.D. from Robert Morris University. Dr. Brackney is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (FBINAA #212) in Quantico, Virginia; the United States Secret Service Dignitary Protection course in Washington, D.C.; Leadership Pittsburgh XIX; and the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP).