Eastern Iowa News Now

CEDAR RAPIDS – Police are defending a decision not to issue State Senator Liz Mathis a citation following a crash last month in Cedar Rapids despite Mathis’ admission of fault.

Mathis, 54, of Cedar Rapids, was northbound on Kirkwood Boulevard SW near Miller Avenue SW on April 13 when her sport-utility vehicle rear-ended an SUV stopped at a stoplight, police said. That SUV struck a van stopped in front of it.

None of the people involved requested medical attention at the scene. Police estimated the total damage to all three vehicles at $20,000.

Officer Lucas Jones wrote in his report that Mathis “admitted to being distracted and attempting to read a billboard.” Jones also noted in the report that Mathis “followed too close.”

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a police spokeswoman, said each officer uses their own discretion to determine whether to issue a ticket during traffic stops and non-injury crashes. She said many factors come into play, including the person’s demeanor toward the officer and the amount of calls police are dealing with at the moment. Officers are trained to determine whether they are being told the truth, she said.

Hamblin declined to comment specifically about the crash involving Mathis. Jones, who is in his first year on the police force, also declined to comment Friday when asked why Mathis was not issued a citation.

“I’ve seen other crashes similar to this, and some officers have written tickets for them, and some have not,” Hamblin said.

Mathis said Friday an electronic billboard caught her attention because it was advertising a golf event for Four Oaks, where she works as chief information officer. She said when she glanced back to the street, traffic had backed up, even though the traffic signal in front of her was still green.

After the accident, she said she apologized “profusely” to the other drivers.

“I’ve taken full responsibility in apologizing and paying for the damages that were part of this accident,” Mathis said.

Mathis said officers were not aware of her status as a public official. She said the officer asked where her cell phone was, and she explained it was in her purse on the floorboard. She said her status as a public official was not mentioned by her or the officer.

“They did not know who I was,” Mathis said. “They asked me where I worked and I said I work over at Four Oaks, and that’s where I was coming from.”

The accident was the subject of an email sent Wednesday by Tim Pugh, founder of the Cedar Rapids Tea Party, to several police officers and media members, asking police to explain why Mathis was not cited. Mathis, a Democrat, will oppose Randi Shannon, a Republican with Tea Party support, in November’s general election.

Mathis, a former TV news anchor in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, won a spot in the Senate in a special election last November. She filled a seat that came open with the resignation of Swati Dandekar, who was appointed to the Iowa Utilities Board.