Police2Peace is a police reform organization that advocates for non-interventionist policing tactics. The organization was founded by former business executive and meditation and spirituality expert Lisa Broderick in 2018 and began garnering attention in 2021 and 2022 for partnering with local police departments to advocate for rebranding police officers as “peace officers,” banning chokeholds and strangleholds, restricting firearm usage, and establishing extensive reporting requirements. ^{1 2}

Background

Police2Peace was founded in 2018 by Lisa Broderick, a former technology executive who worked at Apple Computers in the 1980s and was later CEO of multiple technology companies. Broderick also studied spirituality, dream reading, and meditation as a self-described “Transcendental Meditation Sidha.” Broderick founded Police2Peace to “reimagine” how police officers view their roles and police-community relations. ^{3 4}

Activities

Police2Peace was founded in 2018 and its first partnership was with the Richland County, South Carolina sheriff’s office, which announced plans to add “peace officer” wording to the department’s uniforms and vehicles. Since 2021, the organization has launched a variety of outreach campaigns and partnerships with local police departments throughout the United States. ⁵

Police2Peace’s “police officer model policy” endorses policies that require de-escalation, enactment of use of force policies, banning chokeholds and strangleholds, restricting shooting at moving vehicles, imposing a duty to intervene, expanding reporting requirements, and creating use-of-force continuums to avoid the use of deadly force where possible. ⁶

A key component of Police2Peace’s advocacy program is the “Peace Officer Framework,” which promotes and facilitates the introduction of the words “Peace Officer” on police department vehicles and uniforms. Such markings sometimes replace the existing Police Officer language or are added as a separate decal, patch or badge. ⁷

Police2Peace’s flagship campaign is called “the Peace Officer Promise,” which focuses on “harm reduction” and urges officers to take an oath to “do no harm.” The Peace Officer Promise is referred to as the organization as a “Hippocratic oath for police officers.” ⁸

The organization has also supported campaigns led by other law enforcement organizations such as the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, partnering with the Policing Project at the NYU Law School to promote more female police officer. It has also partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police to launch its Trust Building Campaign. ⁹

Affiliated Organization and Partnerships

Partners of Police2Peace as listed on the organization’s website include the Alliance for Peace Building, Atlas Bodycam, BetaGov New York University, the Institute for Economics and Peace, Interfaith Peace and Action Coalition, Open Policing, Mediators Beyond Borders, the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, and Trust Network. ¹⁰

The organization also partnered with the National Policing Institute for a study regarding right-wing militias and alleged “Police Normalization of Domestic Violent Extremists.” ¹¹

1. “Principles of a Model Policy.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/programs-2/
2. “Lisa Broderick.” Psychology Today. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/lisa-broderick
3. “Lisa Broderick.” Psychology Today. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/lisa-broderick
4. “Lisa Broderick.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-broderick-police2peace/
5. PRESS RELEASE: Richland County Sheriff Adding The WordsPEACE OFFICER to Entire Fleet.” Police2Peace. January 31, 2018. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://www.dropbox.com/s/p1aunlvxh01gh6k/Press%20Release%20%20%20Richland%20County%20Sheriff%20Adding%20The%20Words%20PEACE%20OFFICER%20to%20Entire%20Fleet%20%20Columbia%20SC%2001-31-18.pdf?dl=0
6. “Principles of a Model Policy.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/programs-2/
7. “Peace Officer Framework.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/peace-officer-framework/
8. “Peace Officer Promise.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/peace-officer-promise/
9. “Bold New Initiatives Have Police Engaging In Reform.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/bold-new-initiatives-have-police-engaging-in-reform/
10. “Partners.” Police2Peace. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://police2peace.org/partners/
11. ^[1] Bueermann, Jim. “Militias and Police Normalization of Domestic Violent Extremists.” Police2Peace. March 9, 2021. Accessed October 21, 2022. https://www.policinginstitute.org/onpolicing/militias-and-police-normalization-of-domestic-violent-extremists/