A St. Louis-area company running a statewide ring of unregulated slot machines won’t say if it employs police officers to help collect money from the devices.
But, at least one state lawmaker, a police officer in St. Louis County, says moonlighting for companies like Torch Electronics would be a black eye on law enforcement.
“If they are doing it, I would say they should stop immediately,” said Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood. “Cops shouldn’t be doing that at all. It’s a conflict of interest. It might even be illegal.”
Sparks is a sergeant on the St. Louis County Police Department’s Special Response Unit, which is responsible for targeted enforcement of street-level crimes.
