Hundreds of residents who attended Chester High School's homecoming block party on Oct. 18 told City Council on Oct. 22 they want a transparent investigation into police actions that evening, including release and review of body‑worn camera footage and new protocols for policing large community events.

Event organizer Roland Taylor said the block party and related events were permitted, coordinated with the mayor's office and police, and attracted roughly 2,000–3,000 people. Taylor told council the event had been peaceful for most of the day and that he and other organizers attempted to help deescalate as problems began. "Before I could even finish addressing the audience, officers began deploying mace into the crowd, advancing families, elders, young people who were all simply there to celebrate," Taylor said. He asked the council for "a full transparent investigation into the police actions that evening, reviewing all body cam footage," mandatory de‑escalation and crowd‑management training for officers and a written event‑communication protocol requiring direct contact between event organizers and police.

Several other speakers described similar concerns. Harry "Kino" Jackson said he watched children and bystanders get sprayed and said officers acted aggressively toward community members. "They are racist. They show no respect to our community," Jackson said. Multiple residents described people taken to the hospital for irritation from chemical agents, and others said they waited a long time for ambulance response.

Citizen Andrew Nelson proposed a civilian oversight board made up of volunteers to review police internal affairs investigations and recommend changes to training and policy. Nelson said the board could be established at low cost (volunteer basis) and later codified by referendum if the community supports it. He cited other cities' civilian oversight models and offered to provide a written implementation plan to council and staff.

Police Commissioner Blackwell responded at the meeting, saying the department had received citizen complaints and that the department is investigating. She described the conditions officers faced: a rapidly shifting, large crowd with multiple fights reported and officers from outside agencies brought in to assist. "In large, rapidly shifting crowd situations, OC spray is one of the least intrusive options available," Blackwell said, and she added that officer safety concerns included attempts by people in the crowd to grab equipment and incidents of officers being kicked or punched. Blackwell said citizen complaint forms had been filed and would be investigated, and she warned against social‑media calls for violence directed at officers.

Council members and the mayor said they will review body‑camera footage and convene a public listening session without the three‑minute public‑comment time limit so residents and organizers can present evidence and recommendations. The mayor said he and Councilman Green plan to participate in a broader forum to hear community concerns and stated that the city wants to improve planning and preevent coordination for large gatherings in Chester.

Clarifying details from the meeting:
- Organizers said the block party had a city permit and coordination with police and mayor's office; the event organizer said he had offered private security per the pre-event agreement but problems escalated late in the evening.
- Commissioner Blackwell confirmed the department received citizen complaint forms and will investigate; she said multiple outside law‑enforcement agencies were present as mutual aid because Chester staffing could not safely handle that magnitude of crowd by itself.

What council and staff said they will do next: schedule a public listening session (extended format) to compile community testimony, review body‑worn camera footage and related reports, and provide a public account of the department's investigative findings and any recommended policy changes.

Provenance: meeting participants discussed the homecoming incident during the public‑comment portion of the Oct. 22 council meeting (comments begin at approximately 01:07:08 in the transcript where Roland Taylor speaks; the police commissioner's response is later in the public comment/updates segment).