Bodycam video released this month shows Columbus police officers telling Franklin County Commissioner Erica Crawley she could leave a VIP lounge at Historic Crew Stadium or be taken to jail, despite her group holding valid credentials for the space. The confrontation happened during the Veterans Salute 250 concert on July 2, a Post Malone-headlined show honoring veterans and military families that drew thousands to the stadium.
The footage, which includes nine separate angles, was obtained by WSYX, which reported on the encounter between Crawley, four guests and both event security and Columbus police officers after WOSU published its report on September 25, 2026. Franklin County received 18 concert tickets as part of its financial support for the event, and Crawley was given five of them. She and her guests attended in what she described as her official capacity as commissioner and as a United States Navy veteran, according to the station's report.
According to the WSYX report, event employees contacted security after not seeing VIP wristbands on the group, even though Crawley and the four other women had proper wristbands for the VIP area. Security then called Columbus police to have the group removed. Officers approached Crawley in a restroom and told her to leave, per the same account.
“Being the County Commissioner Did Not Mean Anything”
Crawley told the outlet she informed officers she was a funder of the event, but one officer responded that being the county commissioner did not mean anything. She said 10 Columbus police officers descended upon the five Black women within five minutes, and one officer asked her directly whether she wanted to leave in handcuffs.
Crawley maintained she was not trespassing and had not committed a crime, telling officers she had the wristband provided to her. An officer told her she could leave or be taken to jail, the station reported. She was not arrested and was not charged, but she said nobody asked the group what had actually transpired before officers moved to remove them.
Separate body camera video reviewed by WOSU Public Media captured Crawley telling officers, “I'm above the Franklin County Jail,” a reference to her role in setting the budget for the jail operated by Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. WOSU notes that county commissioners allocate jail funding but do not oversee its daily operations. Crawley has said security checked her VIP wristband four separate times during the concert before police were called, and she has questioned why five Black women with valid credentials were repeatedly targeted while other attendees were not.
Promoter Confirms Credentials Were Valid
Event promoter Breakaway Group's co-founder Zach Ruben, a spokesperson for Salute 250, said in a statement that Crawley and her guests had access to the hospitality areas. Ruben said he personally greeted the group in the stadium's hospitality lounge during the concert, according to WOSU's reporting.
Crawley has said she believes the group was treated differently because they are Black, and one woman in the group alleged the incident amounted to racist discrimination. Crawley previously represented Ohio House District 26 from January 2019 until June 2021, when she resigned to accept a Franklin County commissioner seat filled by the Franklin County Democratic Party after commissioner Marilyn Brown retired, according to her Wikipedia entry. She is a Navy veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and is the only member of the three-person Franklin County Board of Commissioners up for re-election this year, per WOSU.
Investigation Limited to Police Conduct
Crawley has filed a complaint with the Columbus Department of the Inspector General and asked that the body-camera footage be reviewed. The Columbus Police Department has said it cannot comment because the incident is under review by that office. The Inspector General's office was created after Columbus voters approved Issue 2 in November 2020 by nearly 75%, establishing independent civilian oversight of police misconduct allegations, according to Ballotpedia.
Under city charter rules, the Inspector General has jurisdiction to investigate sworn Columbus Division of Police personnel but cannot investigate elected officials, city employees or private venue security, per the City of Columbus. That means the probe will examine the officers' response rather than the stadium security staff who first flagged the group's wristbands. Columbus bodycam footage has landed before the Inspector General's office in other high-profile cases, including a Linden arrest video review earlier this year.
A Franklin County employee submitted the public records request that led to the release of the police body-camera footage on Crawley's behalf, a detail that has prompted discussion, as reported by WBNS 10TV, about how public records procedures and fee policies work between local government agencies. Crawley has continued to call for the footage's release and review as the Inspector General's investigation proceeds.
