on St.Croix, the sportin houses have Christmas tree lights on the front...
Posted on 07/03/2010 10:36:42 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
LAYTON -- An off-duty Farmington police officer was among eight men arrested during a prostitution sting operation conducted Thursday by Layton police.
Farmington Police Lt. Shane Whitaker, 40, of Farmington was cited with a Class B misdemeanor of sexual solicitation, Layton Police Lt. Quinn Moyes said.
Whitaker had come to a local hotel expecting to meet a prostitute, Moyes said.
The undercover sting targeted those who patronize prostitutes and was set up with an ad placed on an Internet site. Potential clients call the number and make an appointment with what turns out to be a police decoy.
Officers did not book Whitaker in the Davis County Jail for "safety concerns of an officer," Moyes said. Whitaker was handcuffed, fingerprinted and ordered to show up for court, Moyes said.
Moyes said that they plan to treat Whitaker's case "like any other case."
"Police officers are not above the law and we do not turn a blind eye or condone this type of activity."
Whitaker said Friday he is not making any comments on the arrest. A court date has yet to be set for him.
Farmington Mayor Scott C. Harbertson said Whitaker has been put on suspension pending an investigation by county officials.
Six other men were arrested on class B misdemeanor sexual solicitation and booked on a $623 bail. They came from as far away as Draper and Tremonton, Moyes said.
They are Ahmad Asgharzadeh, 40, of Draper; Paul Thomas Yannacone, 54, of Roy; Jeffrey Eugene Medgley, 37, of Farmington; Edwin Robert Sundquist, 50, of Syracuse; Tommy A. Rivera, 28, of Roy, and Nathan Wynn Iverson, 32, of Tremonton.
The eighth man, Matthew Hammond, 34, of Salt Lake City, was cited with the same Class B misdemeanor and released because an officer was needed elsewhere and couldn't transport him to jail, Moyes said.
The Layton Police Department created its own vice unit five years ago specifically to crack down on prostitution. From June 2009 to June of this year, the department has arrested 61 people -- 28 prostitutes and 33 johns, Moyes said.
This is what always torques me off about these cases. These cops get rewarded with paid vacation until the case makes its way through court, which get slow-rolled for years. Now he has the option of being paid to sit around and watch TV or go get another job and work for double salary.
If we believe in the presumption of innocence, even for cops, which I do, sorta, what is the risk harm by letting this officer keep working?
When I was in college, to my shame, we shopped for a graduation present for a graduating senior at a house of ill repute. It had red velvet walls, a suit of armor in the lobby, and some very interesting rooms. A lovely young lady came out in waitress themed lingerie and read us prices from a faux menu. The items were not edible. Well, at least not ingestible, for the most part, anyway . . .
The place was on the SAME block as a police station.
If we believe in the presumption of innocence, even for cops, which I do, sorta, what is the risk harm by letting this officer keep working?
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There is little question of his guilt if he was caught there. There is also a high probability that he is corrupt and the services rendered were not paid for him by cash, but rather by him “looking the other way.”
You forgot sarcasm tags. I know every Freeper believes in the Constitution./sarc
I don’t understand how Whitaker didn’t know it was a sting and fell for it.
The two towns are just 10 miles apart, you’d think that a police lieutenant who was presumably really into patronizing prostitutes would know who is really in the business- and who ain’t, particularly right in the neighborhood.
Sounds like he picked someone off craigslist or backpage with no reviews on TER.
Not a good idea to gamble with the Devil. You’ll get burned in the end.
I am pretty sure that this officer has been offered a resign or be fired shortly after this incident. And since this is now public record, his career in any law enforcement is over.
Nothing in the Constitution bars suspending a police office caught with a prostitute. He should be fired in my view but if they have to suspend him because of bogus union rules that’s what they have to do. Private employer embarrassed by his actions would through him out on his keister immediately.
I wonder if a john sting has ever caught a hooker sting, or vice versa?
Hehe. I like it. You’ve just written 5 minutes of Naked Gun 16 1/2.
I wonder if a john sting has ever caught a hooker sting, or vice versa
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It would be possible of course, but probably not too likely.
It would seem a lot more likely in narcotics investigations where a lot more different agencies not necessarily speaking to each other are conducting simultaneous events.
What should really annoy is that the police department hired somebody who is such a dim bulb that they couldn’t figure out how to hook up with a hooker without getting caught.
Traditionally, many police officers married ex-prostitutes for the simple reason that they understood each other, and had no illusions about life and things. And this was not unreasonable.
Since prostitution was generally a misdemeanor, and she was no longer in the business, breaking the law, there was no ethical compromise. And since many police officers married prostitutes, there would be no stigma associated with it—or else—from other cops.
The ex-prostitutes usually made good police wives as well. They were both grateful for being out of the business and not starving, and were sympathetic and understanding about the hard life and risk on the street that the cop had to endure. This was very appreciated by the cops, who otherwise had a hard time marrying someone who could deal with the job. Divorce is still a major problem with police.
I don’t think he is harmed by not working. It’s not like he is being imprisoned.
Sort of like a child abuse allegation.
If guilty, he is obviously abusing the public trust. If not, it did not harm him to take administrative leave.
Due process , stricken from Bill of Rights and Fourteenth Amendment! Extra! Extra! Read all about it ! Community organizer pretending to teach Con Law suspected !
Yes, and Constitutionality just doesn’t come into play here. The fellow or girl above wants to apply the reasonable doubt standard to firings which is not the way it works. People can be fired for any reason and any standard can be applied legally in at-will employment, including the “I don’t like him . . . we don’t get along” standard much less the “he was arrested with a prostitute so I fired him” standard. :P
In this case it’s the union negotiated contract that comes into play with whatever standards it applies. I’m confident the town applied the contract in a reasonable way.
on St.Croix, the sportin houses have Christmas tree lights on the front...
“The ex-prostitutes usually made good police wives as well.”
Plus, I’d wager that they never had any of those infamous, uhh, “headaches”... as in “Not tonight honey, I’ve got a ........”;)
Sounds like he should have paid more attention to what was going on in his place of employment. You’d think every cop on the force would know about this sting.
Don’t believe that for a minute. Ex-prostitutes are like anyone else, except if anything, they are less likely to want to deal with ‘rote’ sex.
They, if anyone, do not fall for the idea that bad sex is better than no sex.
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