SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Thirty women employed as strippers at two cabarets, Cheetah's Gentlemen's Club and Club Expose, have sued the San Diego Police Department, alleging that the cops—10 of them—held them at the clubs for over an hour and made them pose, "nearly nude," for a series of photos in various positions, as directed by the officers. The offenses were committed during police "raids" of the clubs in 2013 and 2014.
The women's attorney, Dan Gilleon, told the Los Angeles Times that his clients had been subjected to "unreasonable search and seizure" by the vice squad members, and that they had suffered from "emotional distress and pain" while under virtual house arrest as the police carried out what were later termed "inspections."
Gilleon is suing for $1.5 million, or about $50,000 for each dancer.
The police, of course, have a different version of events.
"The San Diego code mandates we make these inspections," said police spokesman Lt. Kevin Mayer. "This is not a criminal matter, this is a regulatory matter."
According to Mayer, police have the power to make "regular inspections" of nude entertainment venues, and to check the IDs of dancers and other employees, and even to go so far as to photograph any tattoos the women may have, supposedly to further aid in identification. Moreover, Mayer claimed that if the women were on stage dancing, or about to begin their acts, the police waited until they were done before checking them out.
But legal commentator/attorney Jonathan Turley had some thoughts on the police action.
"Some 10 officers swarmed the club and forced the women to stand nearly nude while they allegedly took their pictures and made crude remarks," Turley wrote on his blog. "The officers reportedly ordered some women to lift what little clothing they had on to check for tattoos. These roughly dozen officers were needed for a license compliance inspection? The women were first asked to show their licenses, give their social security number, and answer questions. However, the officers then insisted the women line up in the back of the dressing room and be photographed...
"While the police insist that they have the right to photograph these women for their tattoos, I fail to see the justification as part of a licensing inspection," he continued. "These women are working in a lawful business. I do not see police demanding that fast-food workers or truckers strip for tattoo shots to confirm that their licenses are accurate. Why should strippers be subject to this demeaning process but not other workers. If someone is arrested, there is a valid need to photograph them but these women were not being arrested. Furthermore, if any of these officers personally retained or distributed these pictures, they should obviously be fired on that basis alone."
In March, the women had filed a claim with the city against the offending officers and their superiors, but that claim was rejected by city officials, leading to the lawsuit filed yesterday.
"Either the officers acted maliciously, knowing they were violating claimants' civil rights or SDPD's failure to train the officers amounted to deliberate indifference to the claimants' rights," Gilleon said.
