St. Petersburg Police Officer Arrested for Soliciting a Prostitute

St. Petersburg Police Officer Arrested for Soliciting a Prostitute

Update: December 13, 2017

The complaint against Officer Reginald Mitchell (sworn with SPPD 9-11-95) was sustained for “Conviction or Guilty of a Felony or Misdemeanor” and “Conduct Unbecoming an Employee”.

The corrective action will be a work Suspension of 160 hours. This investigation was conducted by the St. Petersburg Police Office of Professional Standards and separate from Officer Mitchell’s misdemeanor charge of soliciting for prostitution.

Brief summary: On 06/30/17, while off duty, Officer Reginald Mitchell agreed to engage in an act of prostitution. This was observed by undercover officers who were conducting surveillance in the area. The undercover officers observed a known prostitute approach and enter the passenger side door of a silver Buick vehicle. It is alleged during surveillance, the vehicle then quickly accelerated backwards and fled the area at a high rate of speed, in an attempt to elude officers. The silver Buick vehicle was located at 1351 34th Street North and a traffic stop was conducted. The driver was identified as Officer Reginald Mitchell.

Original article

On Friday, June 30, 2017 just after 8 a.m., an undercover officer conducting a prostitution operation arrested a St. Petersburg Police officer for soliciting a prostitute in the 1300 block of 34th Street North.

Officer Reginald Mitchell, age 46, was observed picking up a known prostitute in his personal vehicle on his day off.

He is facing a prostitution (solicitation) charge, a misdemeanor, and was given a notice to appear in court, so there is no booking photo.

Officer Mitchell is now under an internal investigation through the Office of Professional Standards. He has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

The co-defendant, 32 year-old Amanda McLaughlin, faces a prostitution charge.

In her case this is a felony because she has prior convictions for prostitution.  Her case is being referred to the State Attorney’s Office.

Officer Mitchell became a sworn St. Petersburg Police officer on September 11, 1995. He was most recently working as a recruiter for the police department.