The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A city police officer was booked on kidnapping and other charges Friday for allegedly forcing prostitutes to provide him with sexual favors in order to avoid being arrested.
The investigation of Officer Tiji Sherman, 25, began in April after two women filed a complaint with the New Orleans Police Department’s internal affairs office, saying they “reluctantly agreed” to perform sexual acts on the officer because he had threatened to arrest them otherwise, a police statement said.
Sherman, who has been on the force two years, was arrested in an eastern New Orleans sting operation after he threatened and demanded sexual favors from undercover officers posing as prostitutes. Sherman was arrested after he took the officers to a nearby hotel room, the statement said.
He was also booked with extortion, solicitation for prostitution and malfeasance. He was immediately suspended without pay, the statement said.