COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the aftermath of the quick dropping of charges against Stormy Daniels in Ohio last week, Columbus’ Chief of Police Kim Jacobs said “one element of the law was missed in error.”

Jacobs was referring to the fact that under Ohio’s “Community Defense Act,” the law states: “No employee who regularly appears nude or seminude on the premises of a sexually oriented business, while on the premises of that sexually oriented business and while nude or seminude, shall knowingly touch a patron…”

There’s more to the quoted section after the ellipsis above, of course, but to find the mistake the Columbus police made, you only have read as far as the part I’ve italicized. As a touring feature dancer who normally resides in Texas, presumably Stormy does not “regularly appear” at Sirens Gentlemen’s Club in Columbus.

Not surprisingly, the office of the Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein came to the same conclusion.

My office has reviewed the charges filed by the Columbus Division of Police, and I’ve determined that these crimes were not committed, based on the fact that Ms. Clifford has not made regular appearances at this establishment as required under the law. (1/2)

— Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein (@CityAttyKlein) July 12, 2018

What was more interesting to me, however, was Klein’s subsequent tweet. I was struck by what it suggested about the Columbus Police Department’s alleged “long-term investigation into allegations of human trafficking, prostitution, & other vice related violations” which it has cited as the reason for Daniels’ actions being observed by police in the first place.

We’ll do the same inquiry for the other defendants involved, as well. My office was not involved in this sting operation, so any additional questions about it must be directed to the Columbus Division of Police. The charges have been dismissed. (2/2)

— Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein (@CityAttyKlein) July 12, 2018

While the media has largely focused on Klein saying he will “do the same inquiry for the other defendants involved,” the part which caught my eye was the statement “My office was not involved in this sting operation.”

If the sting in which Daniels got caught up was part of a larger, ongoing operation which is in part looking into a crime as serious as human trafficking, wouldn’t be wise for the police department to keep in the loop the prosecutor to whom they refer cases?

For that matter, might it not be a good idea for the officers participating in the operation had at least a baseline understanding of the law which they purport to be enforcing?

Other questions arise the more you think about this, of course. Questions like “If I’m investigating human trafficking, does it make sense to bundle my investigation with ‘other vice related violations’?” and “What are the odds that Stormy Daniels, a woman who has been directing as well as performing in adult movies for half her life, is actually a human trafficking victim?”

We should also question whether investigating vice-related crimes is a good use of police time and resources to begin with. While we’re at it, we should remind ourselves that Ohio isn’t the only state with odd regulations aimed at exotic dancers – and that in Ohio and elsewhere, there’s an ongoing effort to equate any manner of sex work with “human trafficking.”

In other words, while the primary “error” the police made in Columbia was one of misunderstanding the law they were trying to enforce, it was informed by the many other errors of policy and priority which lie beneath laws like Ohio’s Community Defense Act.

None of this is to say the police shouldn’t try to investigate human trafficking, or that there’s zero connection between human trafficking and sex work. All I’m saying is in seeking out those connections, it might be a good idea for cops to apply some common sense along the way — and maybe make the occasional phone call to the office of the City Attorney, District Attorney, or whatever prosecutor’s office they’re working with, just to make sure everybody’s on the same page.

Handcuff Image © Penny Mathews