Harvey police arrested 2nd Ward Ald. Colby Chapman Thursday for what they called her connection to an assault on city administrator Corean Davis after a recent City Council meeting, a city spokesman said.
However, Chapman said she was released without any charges filed, and spokesman Glenn Harston initially said there was no information beyond his news release, which did not mention any charges.
Harston later provided a heavily redacted arrest report showing a charge of assault, but not whether the charge in under state law or city ordinance.
Chapman, a vocal critic of Mayor Christopher Clark’s administration, said she suspects her repeated criticisms of city affairs led to the action.
“This has been a constant toil of me being transparent and holding folks accountable. And due to that, I am being bullied, harassed, obliterated in so many different ways and it’s really unreal,” Chapman said.
The release stated surveillance footage from a preliminary investigation into the alleged assault Aug. 14 at City Hall, 15320 Broadway Ave., showed Davis speaking with the city’s attorney when she encountered Chapman, a city news release said.
The footage allegedly shows Chapman becoming “visibly upset” and “aggressively moving toward” Davis, officials said in the release. Chapman was arrested Thursday and released in the early afternoon, she said.
The news release said a man is seen on video restraining Chapman as she allegedly tried to confront Davis, who was behind glass doors, after the city meeting. Chapman was then seen making several gestures the release said was “indicative of a desire to escalate the situation physically.”
Chapman, joined by 4th Ward Ald. Tracy Key, walked out of a June 10 City Council meeting after her inquiries about settlement agreements with businesses behind on property taxes were not addressed, she told 2nd Ward residents in an email shared with the Daily Southtown. Clark adjourned the meeting due to a lack of quorum.
Since June, Clark has read a statement at meetings prohibiting what he deems disruptive conduct from attendees such as clapping, shouting or cheering during council meetings. At a July 8 meeting, Clark ordered police to remove the audience from the council chamber for disruptive behavior, according to a video shared by attendees.
Chapman said she has pushed for transparency in how city tax dollars are being spent, but her questions largely go unanswered.
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Since the Aug. 14 meeting, Chapman said she has seen an unmarked car sitting outside her home. Even before the incident, Chapman said she was approached by detectives while serving at the Transformation United Methodist Church’s food pantry Aug. 8.
“These are all retaliatory scare tactics,” she said. “I’m being intimidated, bullied and harassed by the city of Harvey administration.”