The San Diego Police Department has completed an investigation into one of their former officers. Anthony Hair, according to internal affairs investigators, claimed he mistakenly locked himself in the back of his patrol car with a woman that had just been arrested in the summer of 2023.
Hair has since resigned.
SDPD has released videos and audio from that night in August of 2023, when investigators told NBC 7 Officer Anthony failed to follow department procedure and even broke the law when he falsified police reports.
NBC 7 is not aware if Hair will face criminal charges following the investigation by San Diego Police Internal Affairs, as the San Diego District Attorney’s Office cannot provide comment.
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A local community advocate, Tasha Williamson, has been sounding the alarm and calling for more accountability from SDPD. She told NBC 7 that she submitted a complaint to SDPD when she heard about the incident through community members.
"So why is it that this officer is just simply able to resign amid being fired, possibly, but not have any criminal charges?” Williamson said.
San Diego Police released dozens of videos and audio files from the night of August 14, 2023.
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The series of videos, as released by SDPD and required by law, show officer Hair answering an auto theft call outside of a Bay Park 7-Eleven store where arrests were made.
Investigators say Hair drove the female arrestee to several locations that evening, including a police substation in University City and to downtown police headquarters and ultimately Las Colinas Detention facility in Santee.
On the way to Las Colinas, investigators said Hair reported he believed the woman was suffering from a medical emergency. SDPD released a video showing Hair demonstrating in person what happened for investigators.
Hair ended up in the backseat with her and told investigators he accidentally shut the door with his foot, locking himself in.
“When I was waking her up, that’s when I noticed that this door closed on me. That’s when I was trying to kind of open the door,” Hair said in the video.
Investigators said he never called for medical assistance and removed his body worn camera before entering the back seat with the woman.
An officer eventually made it to Hair and let him out of the car, after Hair called for help.
In a later taped interview after her release, the woman said Hair asked personal questions, for her phone number, and to meet when she was out of jail.
“He wanted to get with me when I was done with the warrant or whatever I got arrested for,” said the woman.
However, the woman, as documented in the public documents, told investigators the two never had sexual contact.
According to SDPD, Hair resigned about a month after the incident, just one day before his second scheduled interview with department investigators.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s office could not confirm whether they were pursuing any criminal charges in this case.
An SDPD spokesperson confirmed to NBC 7 that the department investigated the incident, and takes all allegations and acts of misconduct seriously.
Despite trying several attempts, NBC 7 has not been able to make contact with former Officer Anthony Hair.
Since 2022, a law has been in effect requiring San Diego Police and other law enforcement agencies to publicly share records that find peace officer misconduct through an internal investigation.
