Melbourne police officer arrested on prostitution charges

Officer offered prostitute $40 for sex, cops say

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Melbourne Police Department arrested one of its own officers Thursday morning after police say he offered a prostitute $40 for sex.

Officer Shawn C. Archbold was suspended without pay from the department ,and the agency is working to terminate his employment, according to a news release.

"Bad apples need to be weeded out," Melbourne Police Chief Steve Mimbs told News 6. "This is not representative of day in and day out for the remainder of the employees."

Police said the undercover investigation into Archbold was sparked four months ago when the prostitution allegations came to the department's attention.

"We received information that this officer may be involved in this type of act while on duty in uniform in a marked car," Mimbs said. "It's egregious, and it's got to be dealt with, and it's got to be proven. We are going to need an assessment. We are going to hire a firm to do that. We are going to see if there are any cracks in our supervisory practices and processes. We are going to try to address that through training or whatever recommendations are made."

Archbold was arrested on prostitution charges and taken to the Brevard County Jail, where he has since bonded out of.

Archbold started with the department in August 2012. 

Watch News 6 and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.


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