Two city of Tulsa employees are arrested in an attempt to catch people hiring prostitutes.

Both men were arrested in Tulsa as part of a multi-agency operation.

The Tulsa Police Department’s Human Trafficking and Vice Unit arrested Stephen Shaw, district chief of the Tulsa Fire Department, after they say he made online arrangements to meet a prostitute at a Tulsa hotel and pay $300 for a sexual act. But police say he actually spoke to an undercover officer and when Shaw arrived at the hotel, he was arrested. Police say Shaw also had a bag of cocaine in his pocket.

Police also arrested Jeromy Patton at another hotel the night before. Officers say Patton made arrangements online to pay $100 for a sex act. Patton works for the City of Tulsa in the Water and Sewer Department.

“What happens with a lot of these prostitution issues is it fuels the sex trade. That’s the bigger issue we’re talking about here,” said Captain Richard Meulenberg of the Tulsa Police Department.

Police say this type of jousting tries to reduce the demand for commercial sex, going after so-called Johns who are willing to pay for sex.

“It’s quite clear what has happened here: someone is offering services, someone wants to buy those services, but what we are really doing is reducing this demand; we want people to stop doing that, to stop inviting prostitution, because it’s almost creates an economic situation.” power,” says Meulenberg.

Police say there is a lot of money in the sex trade, and it also involves drugs, weapons and violence. Oklahoma law recently changed, making solicitation of prostitution a misdemeanor instead of a misdemeanor. Police say they arrest people from all walks of life during these operations.

“It crosses all socio-economic boundaries; it crosses all ethnicities. This is something that everyone gets caught up in at some point, but the end goal is, yes, we have people asking, the goal is to completely eliminate the predatory action of the sex traffickers through that market,” Meulenberg said. “If we can save one human life from sex trafficking this way, then it will all be worth it.”

The Tulsa Fire Department released a statement regarding Shaw’s arrest:

“The Tulsa Fire Department confirms that an employee was arrested last week. In accordance with our policy, the individual has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing. The TFD is committed to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and maintaining the trust of the community we serve. We take these matters seriously and are cooperating fully with the authorities. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot reveal any further details at this time. We appreciate the community’s understanding and continued support as we remain focused on our mission to protect lives and property.”

Both men have left prison.