What Dave Chappelle has to say about police, local government

Actor and comedian Dave Chappelle was among residents at a Yellow Springs Village Council meeting this week as a report on how police handled a New Year’s Eve altercation with residents was reviewed.

Chappelle urged council to take a “golden opportunity” to prove local governments matter when searching for a new police chief.

“In this Trump year, this is an opportunity to show everybody that local politics reign supreme,” said Chappelle.

Here are three other things Chappelle said Monday night:

  • "Given what the culture of our town is like, the council has a tremendous opportunity to be a leader in progressive law enforcement."

  • "We're being policed by what feels like an alien force."
  • "What is this pool of law enforcement that you can pull a chief out of that is special enough to police this town?"

The 22-page review stemmed from an incident at the annual Yellow Springs New Year’s Ball Drop. Police officers used their cruisers in an attempt to disperse a crowd of revelers shortly after midnight, according to initial reports about the incident.

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The crowd, angered by the officers’ decision to break up the event prematurely, resisted.

David Hale, Yellow Springs Village Police Chief at the time, resigned shortly afterwards in an effort to “heal the rift” with residents.

RELATED: Yellow Springs police to undergo special training

Allison Saurber, one of two officers cited in the review for improper use of a Taser during the incident, resigned in February. The second officer, R.J. Hawley, was injured that night and has since been placed on administrative leave pending further review of the incident, according to Village Manager Patti Bates.

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