COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two former Columbus vice officers involved in the arrest of Stormy Daniels have been fired.
Back in September, Police Chief Thomas Quinlan recommended officers Steve Rosser and Whitney Lancaster be terminated for roles in the controversial arrest of Daniels and two other women.
On Thursday, Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus Jr. agreed with Quinlan’s recommendation.
The administrative charging documents filed against the two officers stated that the arrest of Daniels and two other women on July 11, 2018 “deviated significantly” from the investigations at other strip clubs. Rosser told internal affairs investigators that they were acting on a tip looking for an alleged underaged dancer by the name of “Pearl.” Chief Thomas Quinlan accused Rosser of being untruthful about the reason for investigating Sirens the night Stormy Daniels was arrested.
Rosser and Lancaster were stripped of their badges and re-assigned to desk duty in 2018 following the controversy stemming from the arrest of Daniels and their work inside Columbus strip clubs.
On Wednesday, 10 Investigates reported that Rosser and Lancaster made approximately $98,000 in 2019 while assigned to desk duty.
Both officers have been named in separate lawsuits – one filed by Daniels that alleged her arrest was politically motivated because of her alleged affair with Donald Trump, which the now-president denies.
An internal investigation determined that the arrest of Daniels was improper but did not find that the officers’ politics were involved or that long-term planning of the investigation occurred. Lawsuits filed against the vice officers by Daniels alleged that the some of the officers sought to arrest her because they were Republicans.
Two other lawsuits filed on behalf of the management and former dancers at Kahoot’s strip club alleged that their club was targeted and given citations by Rosser and Lancaster after club managers balked at a request by the officers to re-hire bouncer who had been fired.
Additionally, Pettus Jr. recommended two other officers be suspended: Lieutenant Ron Kemmerling for 240 hours and Sergeant Scott Soha for 120 hours.
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, all four officers were served notice of their discipline and all plan to appeal the decision.