Police believe it laundered money and promoted prostitution for 13 years, long eluding the law in five counties. There's evidence the Puyallup-based business was spreading to other states, too.

Lakewood investigators kept watch for a year, with their efforts culminating in a sting operation in March. They took over the business and sent unsuspecting escorts and johns to motels in King County and Lakewood, where the cops waited.

"It was a fun day," said Detective Kim Holmes, who played the role of undercover madam. "It was amazing how easy it was to just step in there and get all that information. Just like being a receptionist."

The bust required cooperation among Tacoma, Puyallup, King County, the state Department of Corrections and the FBI. The result was 14 arrests and an estimated $1.5 million in seized assets.

One year ago, the Lakewood Police Department debuted with 99 commissioned officers, dozens of shiny blue vehicles and one motto: "Of, for, about community."

Skeptics said the suburb of 60,000 people couldn't break free from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, which had provided service under a contract - not without skyrocketing costs or a cut in services.

Community policing and diversity outreach programs have prospered, seen in events such as a Korean-American kids camp in June and a day of athletics for minority teens in July.

Police have continued working with neighborhood associations. The number of block watches has grown. LPD has made inroads into the Korean-American community by translating the crime prevention catalog into Korean. A few employees learned to speak some Korean.

"We've been informed every step of the way," said Julius Brown, president of the Lakewood African-American Police Advisory Committee. "I feel totally safe with the new department."

The department was embarrassed by a slew of car accidents that drew a strongly worded memo from the chief. Two-thirds were the fault of the cop involved.

Smaller troubles included radio failures early on, though no harm came to the public. And anyone trying to find the central police station might have gotten confused, because it doesn't exist.

There were successes and rough spots, but in the end, LPD is still about more than public safety. It's a symbol of the 10-year-old city's attempt to shape its identity and fight for independence.

"They're a serious player over there," James said. "It's a pretty monumentous task to build a new department from zero. Not something many would want to tackle."

The corridor is used by prostitutes, gangs and drug dealers shuttling from Tacoma, Fife and South King County and continuing up the freeway to Seattle.

Lakewood has the largest rich-poor gap in the county. It is the nearest place for soldiers and airmen from Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base to go to blow off steam.

It's also home to Western State Hospital and many social service and corrections programs that have grown up around the state's largest mental institution.

Residents and city leaders alike say the sheriff's detachment turned Lakewood around after cityhood in 1996, cutting violent crime by 45 percent and overall crime by 24 percent.

Over the next nine years, the city hired 17 more commissioned officers, adopted crime-free housing programs and started a community policing program.

But contract negotiations between the city and the county went sour in fall 2003, and rising costs led Lakewood to go out on its own. Leaders also wanted more control and flexibility. They said the quality of service wasn't a problem.

The costs were 5 percent less than the county contract, according to Lakewood budgets. Managers say they saved money by cross-training employees and handling specialized services in-house, rather than contracting with outside agencies.

Even the new department's biggest supporters were a bit shocked when the job applications poured in - more than 800 from all over the state and the nation.

The city hired more officers with prior experience and less than half the number of rookies planned. This saved money in training and other startup costs while bringing a depth of experience and local knowledge to the team.

A citizens panel helped pick 120 employees with an average of 8.5 years experience. Almost all have some higher education, and almost a third speak a second language, meeting two department goals.

A few weeks after the department launched, a Lakewood detective was fired for poor performance. He came from the University of Washington force, where he'd been reprimanded for unprofessional behavior and suspended for insubordination.

Lakewood officials say the university didn't tell them about the employee's problems. UW officials say they disclosed everything in his personnel file.

Chief Saunders said he wouldn't provide more details about why he fired the detective because at the time, the man was still within the yearlong probation period at the Lakewood department.

Since the department was hurrying to get its positions filled, candidates were not required to take a polygraph test as long as they had passed one at their last job.

Saunders said all employees are now required to take the test. They're asked about any experience with prostitutes and about other aspects of their sexual history, credit background, any anger problems, and drug and alcohol use.

Department brass say conditional employment was the best way to staff a police force just starting out. However, the rule did keep the city from getting some veteran officers who didn't want to go through the probation period.

"I am seriously scared someone is going to get injured badly or killed if we don't get this under control immediately," he said in a staff memo. "Please drive safely. We can catch those bad guys on the next go around if need be. I don't want to lose any of you! We also can't afford the risk we are opening up or the repair/replacement costs."

But problems persisted. According to documents obtained by The News Tribune, commissioned officers were involved in 30 accidents in the first year.

There were no fatalities. Four crashes caused minor injuries to officers. The accidents cost the city a combined $17,000. Insurance covered the rest.

Two-thirds of the accidents were deemed preventable, some of them the result of emergency calls. For instance, an officer rushing to a suicide in progress while running his sirens hit a car that failed to clear an intersection.

A dozen more accident reports read like the script from a what-not-to-do scene in a driving-school film: An officer speeds into a curve. Others hit cars on routine traffic stops. Another props up a motorcycle only to have it fall off the kickstand and onto a car.

The department's collision review board prescribed up to eight hours of extra driving training for each of the 18 officers. The traffic unit also met with insurers for a "complete scrub of our driving policies, drivers training programs and accident review program," Saunders said.

The majority of the original 60 employees operated for the first two months out of a 4,000-square-foot space in City Hall. Desks were lined up against the wall with no room between, paperwork spilling from one to another. The chief didn't have an office.

Even now, the force is split among three locations: City Hall, a building leased from the county on 112th Street Southwest and the Lakewood Industrial Park.

Employees say one larger, central location is crucial for proper communication and customer service. The public sometimes gets directed to different offices.

On election night - the day after the new department launched - police employees and city officials gathered at The Ram restaurant near City Hall, expecting a landslide victory.

The city has extended the two-year lease on the county-owned building, even though it's too small. It has bought property, and the City Council is looking at starting a $5 million fund for a new station next year.

Several officers have said they don't see the election as a barometer of citizen support for the department. The chief also says it's not personal.

The two parties couldn't agree on a transition plan, a mutual aid agreement - a document specifying how the agencies would help each other in an emergency - and other important details.

"A lot of progress was made in law enforcement since we got there, and it seems like (Lakewood police) have been able to maintain that," Pastor said.

But the switch was an even bigger breakup than anticipated. When city officials were putting together the first pieces of the new department, the plan was to continue contracting with the county for services such as K-9, bomb squad, forensics, lake patrol and tactical teams.

Lakewood has a standard mutual aid agreement with the county but has chosen to handle most specialities on its own, in some cases joining regional partnerships.

Lakewood is now taking a lead in innovative crime-prevention programs. The city is leading an anti-prostitution partnership called John School with Tacoma and Fife, and local agencies are working to share more information on the sex trade.

LPD also has a leadership role in the Pierce Metro Major Crimes Response Unit, which shares the workload of major crime investigations in small cities or officer-involved shootings.

City officials have fought for suburbs to get a stronger voice in the region. For instance, the city has pushed to get a vote on the board that governs county records and dispatching.

Steilacoom and DuPont are considering contracting with Lakewood for animal control. Steilacoom initially decided to go it alone, but town officials are rethinking the idea.

"You're going to see Lakewood becoming more of a key regional player in south Pierce County," said Steilacoom Town Administrator Paul Loveless.

Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said the transition in Lakewood has been smooth. Tacoma officers have worked some cases with Lakewood officers, and things have gone well.

City Manager Scott Rohlfs says city will form its own police department after negotiations fail with Pierce County. He says the decision is about money, not service.

The City Council decides to keep Rohlfs until February 2005, six months past his planned retirement date, so he can oversee the department's formation.

Lakewood announces Larry Saunders will lead the department. Saunders had worked for the county sheriff's office as chief of its Lakewood detachment.

Lakewood announces plans to split from the county in September, two months earlier than planned. County officials accuse the city of breaching its contract.

The city and the county still haven't agreed on a transition plan, a mutual aid agreement or the purchase and sale of police vehicles, radios and uniforms.

The city commissions its first 64 officers. Lakewood takes charge of policing half the city, while the sheriff's department phases out of the other half.

Here's what some Lakewood residents had to say about their new police department. The quotes come from interviews and e-mail responses from readers.

"I have had contact with the newly formed Lakewood Police Department, and each time it was very positive. Also, I have noticed a stronger presence. It seems to me they have increased their patrols."

"We're for the most part satisfied. We don't think they've fully lived up to the promise of no reduction in service … but having a department that's in line with the city's code is important."

"I am not happy at all with the Lakewood police. When called, it might take them over two hours to get here. … Some of them are not very friendly … They need to remember that they work for us."

"I have noticed a much more visible presence of the police cruising through Lakewood, which I believe to be a good thing. I rarely saw a county sheriff car before Lakewood had its own police."

Nineteen complaints were filed against the Lakewood Police Department in its first year. After an internal investigation, one has been sustained.

Of the other 18 complaints, six were declared unfounded, meaning the alleged misconduct did not occur; three were exonerated - the conduct occurred but did not violate city policies; four were not sustained - investigators could not determine whether the conduct occurred or violated policies; and two were referred to another agency.

The News Tribune requested records for all 19 cases, but the city released only the findings in the case that was sustained. The city would not release the actual complaint, and withheld the names of the officer and the complainant.

After Lakewood officials initially denied the release of all records in the 18 other cases, they said Friday they wanted more time to consider applicable court rulings about public disclosure.

"We hope not to go through expensive and time-consuming litigation to get these records," Zeeck said. "We think citizens are interested in information like this, and that's why Lakewood ought to release it."

The one sustained complaint involved a 911 call in February, reporting a person with a gun at a bar on South Tacoma Way. A bar employee complained about the way he was treated by a Lakewood officer.

This is cache, read story here