Vice Cops Going Overboard in Seattle?

n a dozen of the 30 reports reviewed by the P-I, officers described how they allowed their hands to be placed on the dancers' breasts or buttocks. In 11 reports, dancers fondled the officers' genitals through their clothing while performing.

 
In seven cases, at least two officers bought lap dances from the same woman on the same night.

 
It's impossible to say how many lap dances individual officers have purchased because their names are redacted from their reports to protect their identities. In 2005, a Seattle police detective said he had purchased 300 lap dances during a five-year tenure in vice in a report to the City Council on strip-club enforcement.

 
Police say that they're trying to crack down on increasing prostitution inside clubs' dim VIP lounges and that, as dances get dirtier, officers are forced to play along to protect their cover.

 
If a dancer initiates some touching or fondling, the officer may not be able to avoid it. But officers are prohibited from engaging in sexual acts such as intercourse or kissing and fondling dancers' breasts, Sano said.

 
"If you just sit there with your hands tucked at your sides, they're going to know you're a cop," Sano said.

 
But they shouldn't actively "be reaching up and grabbing those parts of the body that are deemed to be private," he said.

 
The vice unit borrows officers from other units for incognito work in strip clubs because many dancers already know regular vice detectives. Volunteers come from the department's narcotics unit, anti-crime teams and patrol, as long as they've completed undercover training.

 
After being questioned by the P-I, Sano reviewed some of the stripper-related arrest reports and said he had concerns with a couple of them.

 
One officer, who Sano said was inexperienced in undercover work, said in his report that he grabbed one dancer's breasts several times. With another dancer, he wrote in his report, "I grabbed her buttocks with both hands and kept them there throughout the dance."

 
A second officer, also not a regular vice cop, said he undid his belt, enabling the dancer to unzip his pants and rub his genitals through his underwear. She then grabbed his penis under his shorts before he could stop her hand, according to his report.

 
Both officers' conduct appears to go too far, but taken into context of what they're investigating, might not be as bad as it sounds. However, other vice supervisors will be notified to ensure no excessive conduct happens in the future, Sano said.

 
Sano said the detective who bought four lap dances from the same suspect was justified because after the first two, he thought the suspect might offer sex for money because she was talking "dirty," although she ultimately declined his proposition. That officer is a veteran vice officer, he said.

 
Assistant Chief Nick Metz, who oversees the Investigations Bureau, said the department would review its undercover policies and training -- especially for vice officers on loan from other units -- to ensure they know exactly how far they should go without compromising integrity.

 
"Honestly, I don't feel that there were any inappropriate actions on the officers' parts," Metz said. "They were forthcoming about what they were doing and very detailed in their descriptions ... and I certainly don't feel the officers tried to hide anything," he said.