Story highlights The comedian spoke a town hall in Yellow Springs, Ohio

He called on city officials to recruit a progressive police chief

Washington (CNN) Comedian Dave Chappelle made a rare public appearance at a village council meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on Monday, where he reflected on his own experiences with law enforcement and urged officials to choose a progressive police chief.

"I would beseech the council to look deeply and to look hard, because this is a golden opportunity," said Chappelle, who lives in the town. "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."

The local police chief, Dave Hale, resigned in January after police attempts to disperse a partying New Year's Eve crowd created chaos and caused distress for many residents. According to reports , police fired a taser at one reveler, missing the man but raising concerns that the darts could have hit bystanders.

Chappelle made his appearance during a council review of a report on the tactics the police officers used that night.

The comedian said he has had positive experiences with police there, who "protected my own well-being" on various occasions, but described the New Year's Eve incident as a "huge gaffe."

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