In July of last year, AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels—then at the peak of a national firestorm of her lawsuit against Donald Trump—was arrested during a strip club performance in Columbus, Ohio, for allegedly making physical contact with patrons. But Daniels’ then-lawyer Michael Avenatti quickly charged that the bust was politically motivated, and as AVN.com reported, one of the cops involved in the “sting” arrest turned out to be an ardent Trump supporter.
Now, 14 months after the arrest, that cop—former vice detective Steve Rosser—and another Columbus officer involved in the Daniels bust may be fired for their roles in the arrests. The charges against Daniels—who was accused, basically, of motorboating an undercover cop—were dropped in less than 24 hours.
Daniels later sued four of the officers, alleging that they planned and carried out her arrest for political reasons, due to her legal action against Trump. The Columbus Police Department has denied that the arrests were motivated by politics. But on Wednesday, the department’s interim chief, Tom Quinlan, recommended that Rosser and 31-year department veteran Whitney Lancaster have their employment terminated.
The city’s vice squad was dissolved late last year in the wake of the Daniels bust scandal, and several other, unrelated allegations of misconduct by Columbus vice cops. Rosser and Lancaster were removed from active duty and placed on desk assignments. But according to a WBNS-TV report, public records show that each officer earned more than $60,000 during the period of their discipline.
WBNS also reported that the Daniels’ lawsuit against the Columbus cops is now in mediation, meaning that a settlement appears likely.
Asked why he has now recommended that the two former vice cops be fired, Quinlan told WBNS, “We wanted to get it right.”
Though an internal review claims to have found that Daniels’ arrest was not motivated by the political views of the officers, the department nonetheless deemed the bust “improper.”
Photo by Gary / Wikimedia Commons
