Comedian Dave Chappelle made an appearance recently at a City Council meeting in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he leads a relatively quiet life with his family. The comedian came out of the woodwork to join a conversation about police violence and solutions, urging local cops to be more in touch with the communities they serve.
Chappelle opened his comments by recalling at least two separate occasions when police had “protected [his] own well-being.”
He did, however, call out law-enforcement officials for a “huge gaffe” that occurred on New Year’s Eve, referring to an incident in which officers deployed a Taser on a crowd at a party. Attendees at the party called the incident “horrifying.”
Chappelle recalled growing up knowing the names of several Yellow Springs police officers, but added that “now we’re being policed by what feels like an alien force.”
“I would beseech the Council to look deeply and to look hard because this is a golden opportunity. Literally, you could kill the game. In this Trump era, there’s an opportunity to show everybody that local politics reigns supreme. We can make our corner of the world outstanding,” Chappelle added.