Two former Columbus police vice officers have been charged in a federal case.

Steven Rosser, 43, and Whitney Lancaster, 57, are charged with violating the civil rights of people they investigated – including conducting unlawful searches and seizures and double billing off-duty details, court records allege.

Federal prosecutors allege Rosser became involved in a “physical altercation” with a man outside a strip club in 2015 and later used the “log-in credentials of a fellow CPD officer” to create a false report against the man alleging he made a threat

The man spent five days in jail before the charges were ultimately dropped.

In two separate incidents, Lancaster and Rosser were also accused of searching a strip club owner without a warrant and double the department for special duty hours they worked a water park.

10 Investigates spoke to David DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Ohio.

“They used their positions as police officers to victimize people. They are no longer police officers so they cant use that cover of right,” he said.

Before being fired by the Columbus Division of Police, Rosser and Lancaster spent a year on desk duty following the controversial arrest of Stormy Daniels and two other women in July of 2018. The women all sued and received settlements from the city.

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