K-9 unit at center of possible prostitution investigation
At least one member of the Trenton Police K-9 unit is being investigated for bringing a prostitute into the department’s police dog training facility, according to a report.
Officials confirmed to ABC6 in Trenton that authorities are looking into the K-9 unit for allegedly having a prostitute at its headquarters on the 1200 block of East State Street – which is another building than the department’s Perry Street headquarters. The news station reported late Tuesday that a K-9 officer brought the unnamed woman into the facility but tried to lead her around surveillance cameras that monitor the building.
City Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr., who did not respond to messages from The Trentonian, told the news station he couldn’t comment beyond confirming an investigation is under way.
“Active investigations, involving especially personnel matters - until they’re dealt with at the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office - I’m really not at liberty to talk about,” Parrey told ABC6.
The police use the East State Street facility to train dogs for various emergency situations. The building is heavily monitored because explosives are housed there for exercises with bomb-sniffing dogs, according to a source with intimate knowledge of the building’s layout.
The news station reported the alleged tryst came to light after the the prostitute was arrested and jailed for another offense. She began naming officers from the K-9 unit when they refused to help her out, the report says.
Another unconfirmed published report contends investigators are exploring whether an officer engaged in a sex act with the woman.
Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri, who did not return a phone call requesting comment, told the news station “something could be forthcoming,” detailing the investigation.