Philly PD's first DEI officer FIRED as new mayor, police commissioner take office

The first DEI officer hired at the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) Leslie Marant has been fired, lasting only a year and a half after being hired in April of 2022.    

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

The terminations came right before the swearing-in of new Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel. Then-acting Commissioner John Stanford said in a Tuesday morning meeting that Bethel would be restructuring the department and would no longer need Marant's services.  

Marant did not have any law enforcement experience prior to serving as the Chief DEI Officer of the PPD.   

Gripp said the DEI department will continue to run under Bethel's term as commissioner, and an interim director would soon be announced.

A presentation from April of 2023 explains that Marant's role was to oversee "the PPD’s DEI efforts at every level of the organization" and to implement "a comprehensive strategic plan that will ensure DEI is prioritized and reflected in the PPD’s core values, policies, practices, and culture." 

Marant had a base salary of over $170,000, according to the city's public database.  

At the time of her hiring, Marant told reporters about her intentions with the position, saying, "It's not just a matter of making sure we have the right number of people, we want to make sure that we are involving everyone within the department and outside of the department in all of our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts." 

Previous work from Marant includes securing contracts for the founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, while she was in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. 

She also created the "COVID-19 Case Management Rapid Response plan" for the secretaries in all Pennsylvania state agencies, according to her LinkedIn profile.