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Athens Police Chief Says Officers Handled Mark Mathews Traffic Stop Correctly
By: Cheri Russo
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The Athens police chief says his officers handled a traffic stop involving the Ohio University Deputy Chief of Police correctly.
"It was a run of the mill traffic stop for speed," says Tom Pyle.
Mathews was pulled over in early December and was later placed on paid administrative leave by the university pending an investigation regarding allegations of inappropriate conduct.
University officials say they are investigating Mathews for a driving while intoxicated incident, even though he was not ticketed.
Pyle says his officers pulled over Mathews, gave him a field sobriety test and then decided not to make an arrest.
"The officers, based on the totality of the circumstances, determined to let him go," says Pyle.
Mathews was never given a breath test.
Pyle says of the approximately 2500 accidents and stops his department handles each year, officers only issue citations in about half the cases.
"There's a threshold that has to be met," says Pyle. "It's based entirely on the officer's discretion and the totality of the circumstances."
Pyle says he believes the officers did have Mathews park the vehicle, but he does not know how Mathews got home.
"It was handled as it was handled," says Pyle. "I don't fault the officers for whatever decisions they made."