A Californian police officer was busted sitting in the backseat of his patrol car with a female suspect. The suspicious circumstances lead to an internal investigation and his eventual departure from the force. Now, recordings from the cop’s bodycam have been released.
On August 14, 2023, Officer Anthony Hair from the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) in California, USA, arrested a woman on a warrant issued by a judge.
Highlights
- San Diego Officer Anthony Hair locked himself in the backseat with a female detainee, leading to his resignation.
- Hair requested help at 1:44 a.m., and another officer arrived with a spare key at 2:37 a.m.
- Hair claimed he was checking the detainee's pulse when the door accidentally shut, locking him inside.
- Hair turned off his body-worn camera upon arriving at the location, which is against protocol in most situations.
- Investigations revealed potentially inappropriate interactions and discrepancies in Hair's explanations.
Around 1:10 a.m. on August 15, Officer Hair transported the woman from the Northern Division's substation (a facility operated by the SDPD located in the northern part of San Diego) to Las Colinas Detention Facility for jail booking, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported on Tuesday (May 28).
According to an internal document, Hair arrived at Las Colinas at 1:33 a.m. At 1:44 a.m., he reportedly requested another officer meet him at the detention facility.
As per Fox 11 Los Angeles, Hair allegedly texted the other officer telling him to "come to his location as fast as he could, and he would explain the situation later," the document detailed.
Upon requesting a spare patrol vehicle key, the other officer arrived at Hair’s location at 2:37 a.m. and opened the back passenger side of Hair’s patrol car door.
Officer Anthony Hair from the San Diego Police Department was busted sitting in the backseat of his patrol car with a female suspect
Image credits: FOX 11 LA
Hair subsequently came out "running" from the vehicle. According to the second officer, who was not named in the document, Hair reportedly explained that he was checking his prisoner's pulse during a medical emergency and the door accidentally shut, locking him in the backseat with the female detainee.
The document stated that Hair opened the door opposite where she was sitting and climbed into the back seat, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.
Hair reportedly said he planned to use his foot to keep the door open, but it accidentally shut.
When asked if he had his body-worn camera, Hair reportedly said he turned off the camera when he arrived at his location and placed it in the front seat of the patrol vehicle.
Image credits: CBS 8 San Diego
In California, police officers are generally required to keep their body-worn cameras on during their entire shift, especially during interactions with the public, such as arrests, searches, and transports, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Exceptions are allowed for specific situations such as using the restroom, during confidential interviews, or when recording would compromise sensitive information.
During an interview, the woman who had been transported by Hair for jail booking denied any allegations of misconduct by the officer.
She was then reportedly deemed medically unfit for jail booking and transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The suspicious circumstances led to an internal investigation and his eventual departure from the force
Image credits: CBS 8 San Diego
The next day, two detectives interviewed Hair, who reportedly stated there were no sexual or personal conversations between him and the suspect.
During the interview, Hair also told detectives he had turned off his body-worn camera.
"It's a habit, that every time I am about to reach my destination, I radio I am on scene. I always do that," the document quoted Hair as saying, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.
The now ex-SDPD officer further stated: "I tried to activate my camera when I was inside already. That was when I realized I did not have it on."
Image credits: CBS 8 San Diego
Hair also reportedly told detectives that the camera's magnet mount remained on his uniform, but the camera had fallen off.
He explained that he exited the vehicle so quickly that the camera hit the steering wheel, causing it to ‘pop off’ his uniform, as per Fox 11 Los Angeles.
During the interview, Hair also said he didn't call paramedics because the woman woke up and denied the request.
He reportedly said he thought the woman was overdosing, as she was not responding to his calls, so he "got all the way into the back cabin to try to pull [her] into an upright seated position".
Now, recordings from Hair’s bodycam have been released
Image credits: CBS 8 San Diego
Following the interview, Hair demonstrated his actions on video, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported. He also provided his police uniforms and signed consent to search his truck and police locker.
On August 17, the detective reportedly asked Hair for his department-issued body-worn camera's magnet mount.
Hair went on to hire a lawyer before a following inspection of the magnet count and his camera determined that both the mount magnets and connection clasp were functional and not damaged or defective.
Investigators reportedly said: "The body magnet mount possessed a very strong and secure locked position and would not fall off or become dislodged in any manner."
Image credits: CBS 8 San Diego
Investigators combed through the video footage recorded by Hair and shared a few of their interactions.
Fox 11 Los Angeles has revealed the interactions:
At the 38:13 mark, Hair entered the driver's seat of the patrol vehicle.
At the 38:21 mark, SUSPECT asked Hair: "Are you married?" Officer Hair responded: "Why are you asking that?" SUSPECT'S response was unintelligible. Hair then stated: "What do you mean? I'm cool to you." SUSPECT then said: "You're not too bad."
At the 39:36 mark, Hair started driving the patrol vehicle.
On September 142 2023, Officer Hair reportedly resigned from the department
At the 46:53 mark, a loud noise was heard. Hair asked SUSPECT: "What was that?" SUSPECT responded: "Oh, that was the seatbelt, I'm laying down."
At the 47:08 mark, Hair asked SUSPECT: "What you trying to do?" SUSPECT did not respond to the question. Hair asked twice: "Did you unbuckle yourself?" SUSPECT responded: "I'm sorry, I can't hear you." Hair asked: "I said, did you take your seatbelt off?" SUSPECT started moaning in a sexual manner for the next ten seconds.
At the 47:30 mark, SUSPECT moaned again and said: "Yeah baby." SUSPECT continued to moan in a sexual manner once more.
At the 47:56 mark, SUSPECT giggled and stated something unintelligible. Hair then stated: "I'm not the mean one."
At the 47:56 mark, SUSPECT giggled and stated something unintelligible. Hair then stated: "I'm not the mean one."
At the 48:14 mark, Hair asked if she had identification. She told him she had lost it.
At the 49:05 mark, the patrol vehicle arrived at the entry gate of the headquarters and Hair ended the BWC (Body-Worn Camera ) recording.
"No, I said don't say that right now because everything's being recorded right now," Hair was heard saying in the recording
Another video recording was released. This recording occurred as Hair exited the gates of Northern Division's substation.
At the 5:22 mark, SUSPECT asked Hair: "Are you single?" Hair responded: "Yeah." A moment later, Hair stated: "But you're not." As Hair made his statement, he put his right palm up and made another statement.
The two then spoke for another two minutes, but it was difficult to understand, the document noted.
At the 7:16 mark, Hair stated: "I'll tell you after, hold on."
At the 9:15 mark, Hair stated: "A little bit."
At the 9:19 mark, Hair stated: "I can hear you now."
At the 9:24 mark, it sounded as if SUSPECT stated: "I'm down to f*ck." Hair responded: "Don't say that right now." Hair then stated: "No, I said don't say that right now because everything's being recorded right now."
At the 10:08 mark, Hair asked SUSPECT: "You know that Las Colinas is in Santee, right?" Hair and SUSPECT remained silent for the next several minutes.
At the 15:04 mark, Hair asked: "Are you still up?" It did not sound like SUSPECT verbally responded to the question. Hair kept asking her: "Are you doing good back there" and "What's going on", but the woman did not respond.
At the 24:51 mark, Hair made a right-hand turn at a traffic signal, he turned off the BWC recording.
On September 142 2023, Officer Hair reportedly resigned from the department and said that he was not willing to participate in the Subject Officer Interview which was scheduled for the next day.
Following Hair's resignation announcement, the SDPD released the following statement: "The San Diego Police Department takes all allegations and acts of misconduct seriously.
“This incident was investigated by the department’s Professional Standards Unit (PSU) to the fullest extent.
“The individual is no longer employed with the San Diego Police Department."
"I'm glad he got caught," a reader commented
