A man who was elevated to the role of an official city “peacekeeper” in Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago was arrested last week after he was seen on video taking a swing at a Chicago police officer.
Officials have implemented a program with state funding they hope will lead to reduced involvement of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in violence-prone neighborhoods. It is called the “Peacekeepers Program.” The program consists of appointing community members to the task of intervening in local conflicts.
One of those involved in the program and filling the role of a “peacekeeper” is apparently Chester Alexander, 30, who attacked police when another man was pulled over by the CPD for driving a stolen vehicle on September 22. The driver reportedly fled after coming to a stop, and when corralled by police, Alexander reportedly stepped in to impede the arrest, according to CWB Chicago.
According to a police report, as they tried to arrest the driver, several members of the public began to surround the officers menacingly. Alexander was also standing there and police say when they told him to step back, he began throwing punches 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,” a police report claims.
A Chicago police officer then “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, police also reported finding illegal drugs in his pockets.
Alexander was charged with felony aggravated battery of a peace officer, felony resisting, and felony possession of a controlled substance.
This is far from the first time a Chicago “peacekeeper” has ended up on the wrong side of the law.
In 2023, a man who was apparently part of Johnson’s “peacekeeper” program was arrested and charged with robbing and beating a man in the city’s Little Village neighborhood. Oscar Montes was later sentenced to nine years in prison for the crime.
In August, the CPD alleged that several peacekeepers had tried to interfere in an arrest in Streeterville.
Early this month, Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker was left scrambling to delete photos of his meeting with one of Chicago’s peacekeepers when the man ended up being charged with murder for a fatal car accident that resulted when the peacekeeper was allegedly evading police in a street chase after a major downtown robbery.
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