Chief Stoney Mathis’ tenure defined by crime reduction, officer controversy

The Columbus Police Department is planning a farewell party for Chief Stoney Mathis more than two months prior to his scheduled departure. The celebration is slated for mid-October but the police department shows December 31, 2026, as his official last day of employment. His tenure will be defined in part by a dramatic decline in the city’s violent crimes but also controversy within the ranks of the police department.

Under Chief Stoney Mathis’ watch the Columbus Police Department was named as the FBI’s Agency of the Year. Chief Mathis shared a detailed report with city council at the beginning of the year outlining the phenomenal reduction in crime. January marked the first time in a decade the police department didn’t report a single homicide. By comparison there were 64 murders in 2021 and 27 murders in 2025, the lowest number for murder in six or seven years. Columbus had a 51% clearance rate in Part 1 crimes last year. The national average is 17.4%. The city saw the biggest decrease in aggravated assault cases. There is also a 60% reduction in theft by taking motor vehicles this year.

Recruitment and retention have also improved at the Columbus Police Department under the leadership of Stoney Mathis. In 2021 there were 141 vacancies in the department. In December of 2025 the number of vacancies dwindled to 23. There is a direct correlation between staffing and police response times according to the chief’s February presentation to city council. The response time went from 18 minutes in 2023 to 7 minutes in 2025.

“My goal since I walked into the Columbus Police Department is we cannot arrest our way out of this problem and we can’t write citations to get ourselves out of this problem. The key to it is building relationships and that’s why my community relations and cops unit do such a wonderful job,” Chief Mathis said during his February presentation.

But all was not well within the ranks of the police department and writing citations became a focal point when Chief Mathis fired Captain Greg Touchberry in September 2025. The Columbus Ledger reported Touchberry was reassigned from Special Ops to Patrol and then dismissed after sending an email to colleagues expressing concern the department was issuing too many warnings and citations to boost police officer’s monthly statistics in a system the chief implemented. The newspaper reported the city’s personnel review board voted unanimously in July to reinstate Captain Touchberry’s employment.

The two highest ranking female officers also voluntarily left the police department during Mathis’ tenure. Assistant Chief Debra Kennedy and Assistant Chief Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick were trailblazers with decades of service who chose to finish their storied careers at other local agencies. Debra Kennedy currently serves as the Chief of Police for Columbus State University. Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick was recently named the first female Chief Deputy of the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office.

A formal complaint written by then Assistant Chief Dent-Fitzpatrick in a Fair Treatment Report was obtained by NowGeorgia.com and details allegations of discrimination and bullying by the police chief. “I feel that I have been discriminated against due to my gender, age, and years of service. I am 61 years old, having been employed with Columbus Police Department for thirty-six years. I feel that I have been degraded and demeaned as an Assistant Chief. I have tried to work with Chief Mathis and I have had enough of his bullying, threatening tactics!” Dent-Fitzpatrick wrote in a memorandum.

NowGeorgia.com requested the current disposition of the complaint filed with Human Resources but city attorney Clifton Fay did not respond to a call for clarification on the matter at the time this report was published. Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick and Debra Kennedy left the Columbus Police Department after a combined 70 years of service to the city.

The nephew of Debra Kennedy said he has submitted a request to appear on the city council’s public agenda during the upcoming September 22 meeting. Matthew Bolin said the subject of his remarks will be “failures of leadership inside the Columbus Police Department.” Bolin was adamant that he does not speak on behalf of the former Assistant Chief Kennedy and that he formed his own opinion after obtaining a series of open records requests from the city.

The documented internal turmoil at the department did not tarnish the police chief’s popular public persona. The Columbus Police Department posted an open invitation to the public on social media for their October 14 community farewell celebration for Chief Mathis. Several online commenters expressed a desire to see Stoney Mathis continue his service in Columbus. “Chief, you have done what I thought was going to be an impossible task. Plus you done it really quick! Great job and we will miss your leadership and passion for the community,” wrote one person. Another poster replied “I second that, the changes were phenomenal. I would have stayed at CPD had Chief Mathis been there during my time.”

Because Chief Mathis’ last official day is December 31 it will be up to mayor elect Isaiah Hugley to formulate a selection process and ultimately pick the next chief of police to be voted on by city council. Hugley will be officially sworn into office in January 2027.