When deputies for the Broward County Sheriff's Department set up a sting operation targeting the solicitation of prostitution, they expected they'd get some bites from johns.
They didn't expect one of them would be Stephen Johnson, the police chief of Miami Gardens, Florida.
Johnson, 53, was arrested Friday for soliciting a prostitute in Dania Beach after he allegedly answered an escort ad placed on Backpage and called the number, NBC Miami reports.
Authorities said Johnson arranged for the "two-girl special," for $100, and agreed to meet the two prostitutes at a Dania Beach hotel.
Johnson knocked on the door around 6:20 p.m. only to discover two undercover cops posing as prostitutes. He was arrested and charged with soliciting a prostitute, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel.
A few hours later, he was fired from his job as Miami Gardens police chief, a $165,000 position he had held since last May.
When Johnson bonded out of the Broward County Jail Saturday morning, he apologized for the arrest, which he blamed on job stress.
“I want to apologize to the community, and I want to apologize to my elected officials,” he said, according to the Miami Herald. “The stress overwhelmed me, and I made a very bad decision to deal with that moment I’ve never experienced before.”
During his brief remarks, Johnson referred to an incident on Friday morning involving a 10-year-old girl who was struck by an unmarked Miami Gardens police car. According to the paper, Johnson did not explain how the incident was connected to his arrest, except to say it was a stressful situation.
Johnson was hired last May after former top cop Matthew Boyd resigned amid allegations of departmental harassment and illegal tactics, Newser reports.
Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author
Related
Before You Go
