Rachel Sorkow
Friday, March 15, 2019 | 7:05 p.m.
In videos found on her personal cellphone, a Metro Police officer made a mentally ill man dance for her, taunted a handcuffed man as an officer force-fed him gummy bears, and used a racial epithet in conversation with an indecent exposure suspect, who she asked to see his genitalia, according to her arrest affidavit.
Officer Rachel Sorkow would then share the footage with her friends and family members, mocking and joking about the people she encountered while on patrol, police said.
The videos surfaced as investigators were probing allegations that Sorkow was providing private information to associates from official police systems, police said.
Text conversations and records show that Sorkow searched for information on behalf of her associates that included background information on dating prospects, addresses and a non-redacted report on a child abuse investigation that named the children, police said.
Sorkow, 29, was arrested Tuesday on five felony counts of misconduct by a public officer, and one gross misdemeanor each of capturing the image of the private area of another person and indecent exposure, Metro said. She was relieved with pay in December and dismissed this week.
When the investigation began in September, authorities learned a felon had persuaded Sorkow to check if he was being followed by officers, according to the report.
Soon, investigators learned that an on-duty Sorkow was providing associates with addresses, background checks, and license plate numbers, police said.
Police allege Sorkow conducted criminal history inquiries for associates for personal reasons on at least 19 occasions, according to the report. In December, detectives met with Sorkow to tell her about a criminal investigation into the allegations, and they took her phone.
That’s around the time they found seven videos that included four different citizens.
April 14, 2017
A man believed to be mentally ill is standing next to Sorkow’s cruiser door. He’s wearing a dress.
”I just want to see you dougie (sic) and twerk and then we’re good,” Sorkow is heard saying. “Come on!”
The man dances while Sarkow raps.
Sorkow shared the video with at least three people.
In one of the conversations, an unnamed Metro officer — who a couple of months later “intentionally” stopped the same man, sends her a message — “bahahaha ran into your boo lol shouted you out hah.”
She replied, “I have fun with these (expletive) hahaha.”
Sorkow then used a transphobic epithet, according to the report.
The man was in police systems as possibly suffering from mental illness, police said.
Nov. 1, 2017
A man is already handcuffed when Sorkow pulls up. A package of gummy bears sits atop the hood of a Metro cruiser.
“Partners with the community, feeding criminals gummy bears,” Sorkow is heard saying, an ode to Metro’s slogan.
An unidentified officer appears to be putting something into the suspect’s mouth. “Was that good, bro?” she asks. “Is that scrumptious,” the other officer is heard saying.
“Give him another one, give him another one! Open your month, eat it!” Sorkow says.
When confronted with the images in December, Sorkow laughed, according to her arrest report. “That’s not malicious, again, like … that’s just who I am, I like joking, I joke all the time.”
Jan. 24, 2018
During a domestic violence call, Sorkow engages a 250-pound woman who reported the incident.
Police later learned the woman was “very intoxicated,” per another officer’s report.
Sorkow and the victim joked about the woman’s weight, and Sorkow asked her if she would be in the reality TV show “My 600-pound Life.”
Sorkow then cheers on as the woman shows her stomach. “Do you breastfeed?” Sorkow asks at one point.
She shared the video with at least eight people.
When confronted, Sorkow began to laugh, police said.
May 16, 2018
Sorkow and her partner — the same officer from the incident with the handcuffed man — respond to complaints of a man exposing himself in front of a business.
The man, now in handcuffs, kicks a patrol cruiser.
“Do it again,” Sorkow is heard telling him. “When (redacted) raises his right leg, his penis is exposed through the rip, making it clearly visible to Sorkow” and everyone else, police wrote.
Sorkow giggles and zooms her camera to the man’s groin area. “Do it again!”
In the vehicle, Sorkow tells the man to say “what’s up my (shorten version of a racial epithet).”
He says the word.
Sorkow then uses the full epithet and asks what it means, according to the report. “And what are black people?” she says.
She again told detectives she was joking and meant no harm.
The man was arrested, police said.
The day of Sorkow’s arrest, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo signed her warrant.
It wasn’t clear if her partner, who apologized to detectives, was disciplined. In either case, the internal investigation would be kept private, Metro spokesman Officer Adan OcampoGomez said.
Sorkow is out on a $5,000 bail. Her listed attorney could not be reached for comment.
