Columbus chief responds to allegations of over-policing and profiling

Caption

Columbus Police Department Chief Stoney Mathis speaks to Columbus Council during the July 29, 2025, work session.

Credit: Screenshot CCG TV YouTube channel

During the Columbus Council work session Tuesday, Columbus Police Department Chief Stoney Mathis addressed concerns of over-policing in certain parts of Columbus.

Councilor Toyia Tucker of District 4 asked Mathis about those concerns raised by Terrence Flowers, a local gym owner.

“We write three times as many warnings as we do citations,” Mathis told the council. “So, our self-initiated calls is up 20,000. So, at least two-thirds of the traffic stops that we make, people are getting warnings.”

Mathis previously said these self-initiated calls are any calls the officer is not dispatched to and included examples such as a traffic stop, a stranded motorist or debris in the road.

Mathis said he is an advocate for warnings.

“Our job is not to generate revenue,” he said. “Our job is to change people’s behavior, and a warning does that a million times more than a citation.”

Mathis said CPD uses intelligence-led policing to decide where to put officers.

“It just so happens some of these really, really red spots, or these hot spots, are in the south side of Columbus,” Mathis said.

“If they think that’s over-policing, of us making traffic stops on people and writing warnings to try to get that visibility out there so the citizens that are tired of feeling like they’re a prisoner in their own home, they’re calling me and telling me thank you,” Mathis said.

“I promise you we’re not over-policing,” Mathis said.

Mathis said he is getting less complaints about police officers and use-of-force reports on police officers since he was hired two years ago.

“So, clearly these police officers that we’re hiring have learned the art of deescalation and verbal communication, and it’s working,” he said.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Flowers responded to Mathis by writing, “Regardless of how many calls the Chief claims they’re receiving, I’ve got nearly 10% of Columbus’s population engaging with content, along with dozens of comments from people who say they’ve experienced these profiling tactics firsthand.”

Flowers claimed “hard-working, tax-paying voters” are being pulled over for “little to no reason.”

“These are not the people committing crimes,” Flowers wrote. “These are not gang members. And they are tired of being treated like criminals in their own neighborhoods.”

Flowers addressed Mathis’ comments about writing three times as many warnings than citations.

“Maybe that’s because they’re pulling over three times more people for nonsense a judge would laugh out of court — if it even got that far,” Flowers said.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.