University of Missouri’s Choi reiterates importance of safety after downtown Columbia brawl
EDITOR’S NOTE: The number of assaults from May to July 2025 has been corrected.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi said Tuesday in a written statement that concerns about violence near MU’s campus downtown “must be addressed” after a street brawl over the weekend.
This statement comes shortly after a fight in downtown Columbia resulted in seven people getting arrested on suspicion of a variety of crimes and renewed safety concerns for residents. One police officer was hit in the head but refused further medical treatment.
In the statement, Choi wrote, “violence and assaults against law enforcement officers are unacceptable and undermine the safety of our entire community.”
Choi mentioned a survey in which Columbia residents ranked homelessness and crime as the issues that needed the most attention.
“Columbia residents have consistently identified public safety as a top concern,” Choi wrote. “Their voices deserve to be heard, and their concerns must be addressed.”
According to the Columbia Police Department’s crime map, from May 1-July 28, there have been 22 calls for assaults in the downtown area, many of them on Walnut Street, Broadway and Tenth Street. Data on the map is posted with a three-day delay, so it does not capture the early Sunday street fight.
Twenty-three incidents were recorded during the same time frame in 2025. Of those, six were on Walnut Street, where the fight took place early Sunday.
Choi said in his statement that investing in the Columbia Police Department is the best way to achieve a safer downtown. Columbia voters will decide next week on whether to approve a sales tax to increase funding for its police and fire departments.
“Achieving safer communities requires continued investment in the Columbia Police Department,” Choi wrote. “This includes providing the resources needed to recruit and retain qualified officers, deploy advanced technologies, and ensure that city leaders provide officers the support they need to carry out their responsibilities effectively and professionally.”
Matthew McGee, downtown Columbia bar owner of On The Rocks, said he believes CPD being understaffed leads to issues downtown.
“CPD is 50 officers plus behind versus what they need,” McGee said. “So clearly we’re stretched thin, and they’re doing the best job that they can. I’m sure of that.”
McGee has owned his bar located on Broadway for 20 years and said he has seen crime in downtown fluctuate with no particular pattern.
However, McGee said that the crime that happens near his bar isn’t due to all the people leaving the bars at the same time and getting into an altercation; they stem from somewhere else.
“There’s certainly there have been incidences and around this block. I wouldn’t put them on any one bar,” McGee said. “The people who are fighting aren’t coming into the bars. They’re congregating downtown and causing incidents.”
Even with four assault calls coming from Broadway since May, McGee said he still feels safe about his location.
“I do feel safe. And I wouldn’t operate a business downtown if I didn’t say that with confidence. I understand when people have worries. I understand that people have concerns about crime,” McGee said. “I think that certainly we need to all press our city leaders about what we’re doing, about the problem, look for new solutions and try to think outside the box a little bit.”
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