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File photo of police lights above a patrol vehicle

LEWISVILLE, Texas – More than a dozen of Lewisville Police Department officers faced disciplinary action after an investigation found they acted inappropriately while trying to bust prostitution suspects at local massage parlors.

In a statement, Lewisville Police Chief Brook Rollins said the misconduct occurred between October 2022 and June 2024.

That’s when the department’s undercover officers began an operation targeting alleged prostitution at massage parlors in the city.

The operation yielded 23 cases in two years with 32 criminal charges against 28 suspects. However, the Denton County District Attorney dismissed all of those cases.

“The DA’s office said they were unable to prosecute these cases because undercover officers had inappropriate physical contact with suspected prostitutes. We obtained the list of dismissed cases from the prosecutor’s office and immediately began an administrative review,” the chief. Rollins said.

An internal review found 13 Lewisville police officers violated city and department policy of no physical contact once probable cause was established for prostitution arrests.

In other words, once the undercover officers agreed to pay for the intercourse, probable cause was legally established and no touching needed to occur.

“Internal Affairs found that the personnel involved started out with good intentions but gradually turned from appropriate acts to inappropriate acts. In other words, no one set out to do wrong, but over time the erosion of good conduct occurred and we ended up where we are now. Rollins said.

The chief said there was no evidence any officers had sex with the suspects, and some of the officers who were disciplined were supervisors.

Ultimately, three officers were fired, one was demoted, and seven were suspended without pay. Two also received counseling and several were redeployed from their undercover roles.

“For the residents of Lewisville, this entire incident is embarrassing and disappointing. As Chief of Police of the Lewisville Police Department, it is my duty to ensure that the department operates with the utmost professionalism, integrity and honor. I’m sorry I didn’t get to that,” Rollins said.

The results of the department’s internal review were turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers for a criminal investigation.

So far, no officers face criminal charges.