Stormy Daniels arrest not motivated by politics but still improper, investigation finds

Jessie Balmert
Updated

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus police improperly arrested porn actress Stormy Daniels at a Columbus strip club last July, but it wasn't pre-planned or motivated by their politics, an internal investigation found Friday.

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was arrested at Sirens Gentlemen's Club between July 11 and July 12 for violating the state's "no-touch" law, which prohibits strippers from touching patrons.

Daniels has risen to national attention because of a nondisclosure agreement she signed with President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, exchanging $130,000 for Daniels' silence about an alleged affair with the then-GOP nominee. Trump denies the affair.

Two other performers, Miranda Panda and Brittany Walters were also arrested. Ultimately, charges were dismissed against all three. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said local police should not enforce that law, calling it "legally problematic."

On Friday, Columbus police released a months-long internal investigation into those arrests. They interviewed 19 people, examined 11,000 emails and reviewed more than 30 hours of video.

In the end, they found:

  • Lt. Ronald Kemmerling, Sgt. Scott Soha, Officer Steven Rosser, Officer Whitney Lancaster and Officer Shana Keckley did not plan the arrest of Stormy Daniels far in advance of her appearance in Columbus.

  • Allegations that the officers arrested Daniels for political motivation or reason were not sustained.

  • The investigation found that the four undercover officers made an improper arrest of Daniels.

The investigation will be forwarded to their superiors for review and comments. Any discipline will be decided at a later date.

In January, Daniels filed a lawsuit against Columbus police in federal court over the arrest. The police department declined comment on the investigation due to pending litigation.

Follow Jessie Balmert on Twitter: @jbalmert

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Stormy Daniels arrest not motivated by politics but still improper, investigation finds