San Diego police raid strip club and take photos for 'investigative purposes'

San Diego, Calif. During a raid last week, officers from the San Diego Police Department’s Vice Unit went into the Cheetahs strip club and took photos of the mostly-nude dancers for "investigative purposes."

The officers raided the club with their guns drawn and bulletproof vests strapped on, an image that scared many of the people inside.

"I didn't know if it was a bank robbery or serial killer on the loose the way they had come in like that," manager Rich Buonantony told ABC 10. "It's just the show of force, show of power was incredible."

San Diego police Lt. Kevin Mayer released the following statement about the incident:

"One of the many responsibilities of the San Diego Police Department’s Vice Unit is to conduct random inspections of strip clubs to ensure dancers are complying with the law and that they have an entertainers permit. In most cases, Vice Unit detectives do not require or request clubs to shut down. Photographs of the entertainers permit and the person in possession of it are taken for investigative purposes."

The officers made all 30 dancers line up so that they could check their permits and collect their information.

"They asked us for our licenses and then took down our Social Security and had us line up in the back of the dressing rooms and take pictures," said stripper Katelynn Delorie. "They made me feel like I was a gang member pretty much and they wanted to document every single one of my tattoos.”

According to Buonantony, there haven’t been any problems at the club in the last 10 years. "We are good citizens. We want to be a part of the community,” he said.

[ABC 10]