CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland police officer is accused of soliciting a prostitute.

Sgt. Robert Strollo, 47, is charged with first-degree misdemeanor soliciting. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his arraignment in Cleveland Municipal Court and was released on a $1,000 bond.

The circumstances surrounding his arrest have not been released and a Cleveland police spokeswoman said they had no additional details because his arrest resulted from an Internal Affairs investigation.

Strollo about 1 p.m. Sunday solicited a prostitute on Chambers Avenue in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood, according to court records.

His case was assigned to Cleveland Municipal Judge Suzan Sweeney. A pretrial date was set for March 22.

Strollo was hired as a police officer in 1998. He is a supervisor in the First District and has been on medical leave awaiting surgery for a prior injury, according to Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Betley.

Betley said his union, which represents police supervisors, will not foot the bill for Strollo's criminal defense since the incident happened while he was off-duty. They will represent him if he faces internal disciplinary action, Betley said.

Strollo had recently been reinstated as a sergeant after being demoted in a case for allowing a bouncer at the Crazy Horse strip club in Cleveland to attack a customer who was being unruly, according to court records.

He was suspended 15 days without pay and demoted to patrol officer until Aug. 28.

Strollo was also disciplined in 2014 after he and two other supervisors failed to oversee six police officers who accepted free goods at a gas station and lied on their duty reports.

He was suspended five days without pay. The officers under his command got free lottery tickets and cigarettes from the Marathon Gas station on East 40th Street and St. Clair Avenue, gambled on duty at the gas station and tested Tasers inside the building.

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