BLUE ASH, Ohio — A retired Sharonville police lieutenant who was arrested in Blue Ash during an undercover operation is set to appear in court on Thursday.
Officers arrested 58-year-old Keith Schoonover for soliciting prostitution in December 2024, according to a press release from Blue Ash police.
Blue Ash police said they were conducting an undercover operation at around 3 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Holiday Inn Express on Creek Road; Schoonover was arrested "as a result of the investigation," police said.
Blue Ash Police Chief Scott Noel said the undercover operation wasn't specifically aimed at apprehending Schoonover; they didn't realize who he was until he was arrested, Noel said.
“Once his name popped up, we all knew it because I mean we are a neighboring police agency,” said Noel. “I've personally known Keith for almost 30 years.”
Video from Blue Ash police's interrogation of Schoonover obtained by WCPO showed Schoonover's reaction to the situation.
"I hate that I put you in this spot," Schoonover told officers. "It was a terrible situation. And like I said, I've been a cop for 36 years."
According to the police report, officers were watching Schoonover at the hotel and "upon completing the undercover prostitution operation, I showed a picture of Schoonover's face to the female asking if he looked familiar."
The police report says the woman identified him as a man who was just in her room; the woman showed officers a text exchange between them where Schoonover agreed to meet her for half an hour for $200.
When police interviewed Schoonover over the phone, he told officers he did make a "date" with the woman at the hotel, but never actually engaged in any transaction because she was in the bathroom arguing on the phone the whole time, the police report says. Schoonover told police he was concerned about being robbed after she didn't emerge for 10 to 15 minutes, the report says.
"Four years with Indianapolis PD and 31 years with Sharonville," said Schoonover to officers during his interview. "I somehow made it all those years without being stupid and then a month and a half after my retirement I make a stupid mistake."
The Sharonville Police Department said Schoonover was a former employee of the City of Sharonville, who retired in good standing in October.
In an official statement from the police department, "he is currently a private citizen and afforded the rights as such."
According to a social media post announcing Schoonover's retirement, he worked at the department for 31 years.
Noel said undercover operations like this one aren't unusual for Blue Ash police.
“It’s no secret that the Blue Ash police department targets prostitution arrests," Noel said. "I mean, the fact that we still make them sometimes is surprising to me because we do it and we don’t hide it. I mean it’s not something we do covertly. I mean obviously, it’s an uncover operation but we’re not quiet about it.”
The latest court records and Blue Ash police department data show less than 50 arrests this year.
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