Harvey alderwoman claims she was arrested after criticizing the mayor

HARVEY, Ill. — A new controversy is brewing in the south suburbs after a Harvy city official claims she was arrested after she criticized the mayor.

Alderwoman Colby Chapman represents Harvey's second ward. But on Wednesday, she said she spent five hours in jail, in what she calls a politically motivated abuse of power.

"I'm in the back of the police car. The video is slightly turned because I'm in handcuffs," Chapman said while streaming on Facebook Live Wednesday morning.

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Chapman's attorney says she was later released without charges.

"I've always used my platform to stand for the residents here in the 2nd ward and serve the City of Harvey, and I believe, overall, my servitude is agitating to certain pieces of the administration," Chapman said.

Chapman's attorney, Rob Hanlon, said he felt the officers had no basis to arrest her.

"The Harvey police department has come to the conclusion, but only after having arrested my client and having my client stay in custody for in excess of 5 hours, that they didn't have a basis to arrest Ms. Chapman," Hanlon said.

The arrest for an alleged false report stems from an incident between Chapman and the Harvey City Administrator in August, which was captured on surveillance video. Following the incident, Chapman was arrested then, too.

"I simply am here to do my job," Chapman said. "And I simply just want to be able to do that as opposed to being arrested, falsely targeted."

Chapman pointed to her criticism of Mayor Cristopher Clark as the reason for her arrest. Criticism that's gotten her escorted out of city council meetings.

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"I've worked adamantly to get questions answered and specifically around our financial landscape, those questions are always met with some authoritarian rebuttal," Chapman said.

When WGN-TV called the mayor for comment, his PR representative sent a statement, which included a quote from Harvey's police chief.

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"We should be thankful that at least, you know, one person in the Harvey police department realized it was not advisable to continue to just follow the blind instructions from a mayor that doesn't have the power to direct, you know, people being arrested to begin with," Hanlon said.

While no charges were filed today, police said their investigation into the matter continues.

Chapma's attorney said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit, as early as this week, over the arrest and more.