Alderwoman arrested and released from Harvey Police Department headquarters without charges

Ald. Colby Chapman (2nd) is home after being arrested Wednesday morning over allegations she filed a false police report against City Administrator Corean Davis in August.

But Chapman maintained her innocence, as she live streamed herself in the back of an Harvey police vehicle in transport to Phoenix Police Department for holding before returning to HPD headquarters.

It was an attempt to “assassinate her character,” she’s seen saying in a video she recorded on Facebook. She’s been an outspoken critic of the mayor’s since her election in 2023. The mayor attempted to censure her in March before tabling the resolutions.

Harvey police didn’t have any paperwork in its system regarding Chapman’s arrest, an officer can be overheard telling her.

Watch the full video here.

On October 11, Harvey homicide detectives Javier Magana and William Brazil appeared at Chapman’s home, according to video footage from Chapman’s camera, posted on Facebook by Harvey library secretary Chapelle Hooks. Chapman expressed her disgust with it, at the time:

The reason? They were seeking to speak with Chapman for allegedly filing a false police report. Chapman surrendered herself Wednesday morning, saying on video that she was still innocent. She was released approximately five hours later without charges filed, amplifying community concerns that the mayor’s office and police department attempted to frame and defame her.

Ryan Sinwelski is both a former mayoral ally and planning commissioner. Mayor Chris Clark ordered police to arrest him at a raucous City Council meeting in June. Chapman “shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place,” Sinwelski told the HWH this afternoon, “let alone twice.” 

Supporters galvanized at Harvey Police Department headquarters this early afternoon. On Sunday, some of them held a press conference demanding federal investigations and external intervention in the Clark administration. 

Chapman’s attorney says that they plan to sue Harvey.

How it all started

The HWH previously reported that on August 14, Chapman filed an assault and battery report against Davis.

After a special City Council meeting that evening, Davis allegedly pushed Chapman into the double mirrors near the mayor’s office. Chapman was attempting to speak with city attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer of Ancel Glick when Davis exited the mayor’s office, pushed Chapman, ordered Krafthefer to follow her into the mayor’s office, and ran back inside, witness George Gower told the HWH.

Gower was one of two people who signed witness statements supporting Chapman’s claim. To date, police haven’t provided Chapman with a copy of that report or the witness statements. The city previously denied the HWH’s record requests for both that report and video footage showing who assaulted who.

A few weeks later, Harvey police contacted Gower to repeat his statements. He did, but they haven’t contacted him since, Gower told the HWH this afternoon.

Even then, police arrested Chapman on August 21, with city spokesperson Glenn Harston II releasing a statement that Chapman assaulted Davis. The city then released Chapman’s mug shot to Chicago news media.

On August 22, Davis filed an order of protection against Chapman, which Mayor Chris Clark co-signed. In September, a judge dismissed it. Davis later expounded on her statements, saying Chapman attempted to hit Davis with her purse. 

But Chapman’s mother was holding Chapman’s purse that evening, Gower said.

History of the detectives

Magana and Brazil were the two detectives who contacted Chapman last week.

According to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Magana’s only ever been an officer in Harvey. He started out part-time in 1996, before joining the force full-time in 2000.

Brazil’s employment history is more tumultuous and sketchy. 

He’s worked for six police departments across the Chicago-region over the past 28 years in both a part-time and full-time capacity. Four of those departments were in the south suburbs, including South Suburban College Police Department in South Holland, according to the ILETSB.

His south suburban career began in Markham, where Brazil worked as a part-time officer for four months in 2006. Simultaneously, he worked as a full-time officer in Dixmoor for two months.

In 2006, Brazil was fired from Dixmoor Police Department, according to records from the National Police Index, a police employment history database created by the New Orleans Innocence Project, Human Rights Data Analysis Group, and investigative nonprofit newsroom Invisible Institute.

He then returned to Markham, retiring from that department in 2021. That same year, bounced back to Dixmoor as a part-time officer. Brazil’s been employed with Harvey since 2022.

Neither Magana nor Brazil responded to requests for comment by press time.

Court dates

Chapman appeared in court on October 8.

That day, Harvey’s attorneys failed to show in court. Officers failed to turn over the video footage or arrest documents to Chapman’s attorneys, known as the discovery period, which allows all parties to have access to the same evidence before court hearings.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Cook County is the nation’s wrongful conviction capital. Of the 153 exonerations the group recorded in 2023, the majority of those occurred in Illinois, and specifically Cook County.

Clark, Davis, Harston II, or Harvey Police Chief Cameron Biddings did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Immediate impact

Ald. Tracy Key (4th) co-chairs the public safety committee with Chapman. 

He accompanied her to police headquarters this morning as Chapman arrived at the station, and tonight the two were slated to hold a committee meeting at City Hall.

Tonight’s meeting has been cancelled, Key alerted residents via Facebook post.

Key declined to comment.