The city of Flagstaff is creating new policies and requirements for all human trafficking investigations, as well as its Vice Unit, after an ABC15 investigation.
ABC15's investigation from last July exposed how two Flagstaff Vice Unit officers went undercover in massage parlors, took their pants off, and allowed themselves to be fondled at least five different times each.
The operation was approved by federal agents, Coconino County prosecutors, and Flagstaff’s command staff.
The Flagstaff city manager has repeatedly said he does not think the officers' conduct on the massage table was illegal.
Experts on human and sex trafficking, though, reviewed some of the reports and body camera footage and told ABC15 the officers appear to have missed multiple "red flags."
The city paid nearly $10,000 for an outside review, which provided the city with a number of policy recommendations.
At the June 20, 2023, City Council meeting, leaders discussed the changes made as a result of the outside review and internal police assessment.
Many of the new Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) guidelines and policies are a direct result of issues with the 2019 operation.
In the new policy, leaders:
- Created clear definitions of escorts, human trafficking, prostitution, massage parlor, and victim-centered approach
- Identified qualifications for police officers assigned to HEAT investigations
- Required police chief approval and city manager notification prior to a HEAT investigation
- Limited undercover investigations to instances where other investigative tools are not practical
Undercover officers are now banned from:
- Committing a crime to hide that they are law enforcement
- Disrobing during an investigation
- Engaging in any type of sexual activity
“I think any of us potentially could have written that,” said Jenna Panas, CEO of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. “I think those are just the basic practices of good policy, right?”
The undercover officers must also confirm they are comfortable with the plan ahead of time, interview any possible victims of human trafficking, and enter evidence within 24 hours of it coming into possession.
The last "evidence" requirement is included because multiple criminal cases, in the 2019 operation, were dropped by prosecutors after defense attorneys pointed out that officers failed to store all the video evidence.
The city is also working with the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network to become a CEASE city. In April, the city of Flagstaff began in-person training for police and fire employees, and online training for all other city employees, to help them better identify and report human trafficking.
In order to achieve the official "CEASE city" designation, they must train at least 75% of all city employees.
Panas, and other experts in Arizona, told ABC15 that they think the city could be doing more to address the problem of human trafficking, like adopting ordinances that a Flagstaff non-profit spent months researching and crafting.
“Those [business regulation ordinances] have been extremely effective in other agencies and in other cities at managing this issue, without provoking further harm to those victims of human trafficking, like undercover work tends to do,” said Panas.
The experts who wrote the ordinances told ABC15 they sent the potential regulations to the city manager, the city council, and the police chief back in February – and have heard nothing since.
“Unless we make it so difficult that accessing that market is no longer feasible, those businesses will continue to exist, and folks will continue to be victimized or human trafficking,” said Panas.
ABC15 asked the City Manager’s office via email why the non-profit’s proposed ordinances have not been discussed or adopted. The City Manager’s spokesperson declined to comment.
