Following a briefing at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at the police station, Chief Daughtry and his officers split into two teams. “We covered many parts of the city,” Chief Daughtry added. “We can only stay about 20-30 minutes in a location since now everyone posts our location on social media. We appreciate everyone spreading the word, and then we move on to the next location. You never know where we will be.”

After spending the evening and early morning working with the officers, Chief Daughtry had high praise for his team. “These officers volunteered to come out and spend a holiday evening away from home to make our city safer,” Chief Daughtry said. “That says a lot about the great men and women we have serving our city.

I love the spirit and dedication of our officers and know our best days are ahead. I see a true spirit of caring and protection from these in the field. Officers from patrol and investigation divisions came out and took part in the detail. Thank you to their families for sharing these family members with us,” Chief Daughtry added.

The majority of drivers responded well to the roadblocks. “Those that received citations were not very happy, but that was only a small amount of drivers,” Chief Daughtry said. “Most drivers thanked us for being out in the city and making our roads safe for everyone. We helped one driver with a flat tire and another secure a child’s car seat. We are here to help.”

A rifle, a handgun, and a knife were also recovered during the operation. In addition, Columbus police took a felon in possession of two weapons into custody.

“Thank you to our officers for their work,” Chief Daughtry added. “This was the first and certainly will not be the last effort like this.”