11 North Texas police officers disciplined over inappropriate conduct with prostitutes
Eleven North Texas police officers have been disciplined, including three who were fired, due to inappropriate physical conduct during a prostitution investigation.
According to a statement by Lewisville Chief of Police Brook Rollins on Friday, Nov. 1, an Internal Affairs investigation concluded that there had been inappropriate physical contact between some officers and alleged prostitutes.
Rollins said that 13 police officers were found to have violated department directives and protocol, and 11 of them were disciplined.
Three of the officers were terminated, one was demoted, and seven were suspended without pay for various periods and will return to duty when their suspensions are served, Rollins said.
Two employees were given counseling, which is not considered a form of discipline, he said.
“Terminating, demoting, and suspending officers is a challenging aspect of the job. It is not something I enjoy doing,” Rollins said. “But, as the Chief of Police, I must hold all of us accountable. These outcomes weigh heavily, and the aftermath is tough for all of us in the Department.”
All members of the department were notified about the investigation’s findings and the disciplinary actions that were taken, Rollins said.
In late June, the Lewisville Police Department initiated the internal investigation involving the department’s Street Crimes Unit. Officers with the Street Crimes Unit had been conducting an operation to identify and eliminate alleged prostitution at local massage businesses, Rollins said.
The Internal Affairs investigation started because of concerning aspects of 23 prostitution cases that had been filed with the Denton County District Attorney’s Office, the chief said.
The 23 cases included 32 criminal charges against 28 suspects. The district attorney’s office chose not to prosecute those cases, according to Rollins.
LPD obtained the list of declined cases from the DA and began an administrative review, which showed possible misconduct was occurring. These cases were referred to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers for a concurrent yet separate criminal investigation, the police chief said.
According to department policy, “once probable cause has been established for a prostitution arrest, any further physical contact is deemed inappropriate,” he said.
“There is no evidence that any officer had sex with any of the alleged prostitutes,” Rollins said. “Not all of the employees receiving discipline were found to have engaged in inappropriate contact; some were disciplined for ineffective supervision or communication that facilitated those incidents.”
No criminal charges have been filed, he said. The department did not release the names of the officers involved.
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 1:05 PM.