A man who was elevated to the role of official city “peacekeeper” in Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago was apprehended last week after being seen on video taking a swing at a Chicago police officer.
Officials have implemented a state-funded program in the hopes of reducing the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) engagement in violent communities. It’s dubbed the “Peacekeepers Program.” The program involves appointing community representatives to intervene in local conflicts.
Chester Alexander, 30, appears to be one of the individuals involved in the program and acting as a “peacekeeper” after attacking police when another man was pulled down by the CPD for driving a stolen vehicle on September 22. CWB Chicago reports that the driver fled after stopping, and when police apprehended him, Alexander allegedly intervened to obstruct the arrest.
According to a police report, while the cops attempted to apprehend the motorist, other members of the public began to encircle them, threateningly. Alexander was also present, and when police asked him to step back, he began throwing fists at them.
“At that time is when Chester Alexander swung his left hand and struck [an officer] with his closed fist and immediately took a fighting stance while holding both hands close to his face,” according to a police investigation.
A Chicago policeman thereafter “performed closed-hand strikes to Alexander about the chest and performed knee strikes to his stomach area as assisting officers placed handcuffs on Alexander.”
After securing Alexander’s hands, authorities discovered illegal substances in his pockets.
Alexander was charged with felony aggravated violence on a peace officer, resisting, and possessing a controlled narcotic.
This is not the first time a Chicago “peacekeeper” has run afoul of the law.
In 2023, somebody who appeared to be part of Johnson’s “peacekeeper” program was arrested and charged for robbing and assaulting a man in the city’s Little Village district. Oscar Montes was eventually sentenced to nine years in jail for the crime.
In August, the CPD claimed that numerous peacekeepers attempted to intervene in an arrest in Streeterville.
Earlier this month, Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker was forced to delete photos of his meeting with one of Chicago’s peacekeepers after the man was charged with murder for a fatal car accident that occurred while the peacekeeper was allegedly evading police in a street chase following a major downtown robbery.