Police Chief CAUGHT on Video Sexually Harassing Teen Dispatcher: Cops

It is a very uncomfortable video to. watch here. A former police chief has. just resigned after tape of him. allegedly acting inappropriately with an. 18-year-old female dispatcher began. circulating online. The question is, did. he sexually harass her? How could this. happen? Why didn't the mayor know. sooner? And what comes from all of this? Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. [Music]. Hey everybody, this is another law and.

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While our legal sponsors, they are. taking on the online gambling industry. to seek justice and potential. compensation. So, if you or a loved one. has struggled with addiction or. financial hardship or mental health. issues due to sports betting apps, then. visit gamblinguits.com/sidebar. to take a short quiz and check your. eligibility to file a claim. Let's talk. about Police Chief Jason Hair out of. Cordova, Alabama. Maybe I should say. former police chief, husband, father, four months on the job. He was sworn in. on June 23rd. Well, now he has resigned.

And Harold Cox has been named interim. chief. Why did he resign? What is going. on now? While we have not gotten an. official confirmation of why he has. resigned, what has come out? It is being. reported that he is accused of sexually. harassing an 18-year-old police. dispatcher. And now we have to wonder, was it just caught on tape? That is what. we got to discuss. Now, Mayor Jeremy. Pate of Cordova released this statement.

to al.com. We're aware of information. that is being circulated regarding a. city employee. However, it is our. practice not to comment on specified. personnel matters. We take all reports. of employee misconduct seriously and. respond promptly and thoroughly. He also. indicated that this is an administrative. investigation. It's not currently a. criminal matter. We'll talk about if. that could change. But now we got to. talk about this tape. This video that. was apparently recorded on the police. department surveillance camera system.

Okay. I will tell you we're only going. to show you portions of it. We do not. want to show the whole thing here. We're. only going to show you portions that we. think are legally relevant. This is. reportedly from August 26, 2025, which. by the way raises a question about why. are we only talking about this now? Why. did it come out? There are a few parts. that we need to call out. So, first it. appears that Jason Hair approaches this. employee. He is standing. She is. sitting. At one point, it appears that.

he touches her hair, her head. She. appears to swat him away. Then, he seems. to stand over her, allegedly leaning. into her for over 20 seconds. There is. even one part where he looks to grab her. head or neck, and there's some movement. or shaking. allegedly guiding her head. towards him, swatting him away. And they. are talking throughout all of this, but. there is no audio, so we don't know. exactly what's being said. Also, according to al.com, a family member of.

this dispatcher says she didn't report. here that it was actually another. employee who saw this tape, reached out. to supervisors, that according to her. family, this dispatcher was quote scared. to death, that this was her first job, she's dealing with the chief of police, that she didn't know what to do. Now, I. mentioned that hair resigned, that Cox. was sworn in. There was a letter from. Jason Hair that was read by Mayor Pate. when this happened. >> Before we take role, I want to read a.

short letter. Says, "As of 106, 2025, I. resign as police chief of Cordova. I. hope the city of Cordova the best and. keep moving forward." Jason Hair. >> When it comes to hair resigning, according to CBS42, Mayor Pate. apparently said, "That wasn't my. decision. That was his decision." Mayor. Pate also told ABC 3340, "There's been. chatter on the internet of an incident, and so we're just saying that we handled. things in a swift manner." He confirmed. that that video is the incident in.

question, that hair is in the video. Pate went on to say, "Only thing I can. say is that nobody wants to be in a. position like that. Flesh is weak. People get caught up in stuff sometimes. that they don't intentionally or don't. necessarily want to do. I'm not making. excuses for anybody. I'm just saying. everybody gets caught up in situations. that aren't good situations. So, we need. to make sure we're keeping ourselves in. positions that are professional and. doing the right things. As I mentioned, this video was reportedly dated August. 26th, 2025. Mayor Pate claims he didn't.

know about it until this past Saturday, that apparently the 18-year-old woman. spoke to him. And when asked about why. he didn't know about it until so late, Pate told ABC 3340, "We are definitely. still asking questions about what went. on and why this was delayed in getting. turned over to us." And Pate explained. that when they were made aware, they. acted swiftly, saying, "Whatever goes on. in the internet, we don't have any. control of that. I know that what went.

on here, we handled it in a swift. manner." By the way, talking Jason Hair. for a minute, this is a guy who was. praised. The Walker County Sheriff's. Office, where he was working before. Cordova, which is relatively nearby, posted on Facebook, quote, "As law. enforcement appreciation week continues, so does our series of highlighting some. of the best of the office. Deputy Jason. Hair is a man that needs a little. introduction. A dedicated family man. with many years of service at the WCSO,

he stands watch over our children. After. being on patrol for many years, several. of them as a canine handler, he felt the. call to protect our children, and he. does so relentlessly. There's no finer. example of a lawman. So, let him know. how much you appreciate him keeping our. kids safe. Jason Hair was a 26-year. veteran of the force when he was brought. in as chief of Cordova. The police. department, the city officials, they. hailed him in a Facebook post back on. June 23rd where you can see Mayor Pate.

swearing him in. It reads, "The city of. Cordova is proud to announce the. appointment of Jason Hair as the new. chief of police. Chief Hair brings 26. years of distinguished law enforcement. experience to the role. Known for his. commitment to community engagement, public safety, and modern policing. practices, Chief Hair is expected to. lead the department into a new era of. transparency, innovation, and. collaboration. We are confident that. Chief Hair will build on our. department's strong foundation and lead.

with integrity, accountability, and. vision, bringing new ideas to the. department. Congratulations, Chief. We. are excited to have you. So, now I want. to bring on civil rights attorney Jack. Boyd to talk more about this. Jack, thanks so much for taking the time to. come here on Sidebar. How bad is that. video? >> I mean, it's about as bad as it can get. I mean, it's all right there laid out. anybody who sees that video can see. what's going on there. >> That's the question. Is there a way a. defense attorney could look at this? And.

and by the way, as I mentioned before, there is no nothing to confirm there's. any kind of criminal investigation going. on. But if this should amount to some. sort of civil litigation or. administrative action, um is there a way. to defend it? it. There are parts of it. that I I mean I I I think they're really. hard to argue that he's not touching her. or not touching her in some way and. positioning himself in some way. Is. there a way to explain this a benign.

reason? >> Criminally, I I I don't know. I think. it's I think it's pretty obvious what's. happening in there. Civily, it's it's. going to really depend on the knowledge. that the city of Cordova and the Cordova. Police Department had beforehand. Did. they know that this guy was dangerous to. be around young women? Uh, and if they. did, I I don't know if there is a way. around that. I mean, it's pretty. clear-cut what's going on. Le. >> let's analyze this for a moment. If. someone says, "Hey, listen. 18 years.

old. Yeah, there's an age difference. here. Yeah, there's a position. difference. chief of police, dispatcher, if it's all consensual and he were to. own up to it and said, "Yep, you see. what it is. We're play we're playing. here." Talk to me about how that might. be a factor or not a factor. >> Well, first of all, just from the video. there, it it looks that there there is. something forcible going on. I mean, there's there's there's there's grabbing. and and and such, but but even still, with that power dynamic, I I don't know.

if there is a way to argue that that's. consensual. I I understand um that the. the young lady here is is legally an. adult. Um but at the same time, he he's. the chief of police. She's a teenager in. her first job. And so I think that. creates a situation where it's going to. be hard to argue that anything is. consensual here whatsoever. >> What are generally speaking, what are. someone's legal rights in a workplace? Whether it's an accounting office or. it's a police department, what are. someone's legal rights? Let's start. there. >> Well, you have a right not to be. harassed in a workplace. You have a.

right not to be abused in the workplace. and you have a right to in to have your. employer ensure that your workplace is a. safe space. And I'm not talking about a. safe space emotionally. I'm talking. about like baseline. You're not going to. be subject to abuse in the workplace. And you know, if the Cordova Police. Department had reason to know that this. guy was dangerous by keeping him around. as chief of the police or even by hiring. him as chief of police, uh, they.

wouldn't have been doing that. >> Is the resignation uh by her is the. resignation an admission of what he. allegedly did on that tape. Remember, Mayor Pate hasn't come out explicitly. and said that the reason uh that hair. has resigned is because of this, but I. think a lot of people are putting two. and two together and talked about the. timing of it. But does the resignation. signify to you that it is an admission. on the part of hair about what he.

allegedly did? >> You know, I don't know if I would. consider it an admission on the part of. hair because to me it doesn't look like. hair had any part in this decision. I. mean, the statement from the mayor was. vague, but there there's this sort of. suggestion that, oh, we saw the video. and we had to take action. So, I think. what the resignation is most likely is. really a favor to him. Let him resign so. they don't remove him in the first. place. Um, but it it certainly is a. signal um that folks know that something. very wrong happened here.

>> And generally speaking, in these kinds. of situations, what is happening now? What is happening behind the scenes? What is an internal investigation look. like? What could be potentially the role. of law enforcement police in this? >> Well, uh the the role of law enforcement. and police right now, and I understand. as you mentioned, there's no indication. that there's a criminal investigation. They're going to have to decide whether. they want to bring charges against him. Ordinarily, you'd need some element of. victim cooperation before that happens,

but that's usually because a victim's. testimony is critical to a case like. this. most cases there aren't cameras. around here. They know what happened and. so they're going to have to make a. decision over bringing uh criminal. charges. Civily, it it's really going to. be all up to uh to the young lady right. now to decide whether or not she wants. to to bring a lawsuit herself. Um if she. does, she'll she'll have an opportunity. to do that. But again, those lawsuits. were typically far more focused on the.

the institutional angle um in. determining who knew what and when and. could this have been prevented from. happening in the first place. >> Let me explore that a little bit in in. one second. Just to be clear though, whatever administrative investigation or. internal investigation is going on, there wouldn't be further consequences. for her. I mean, he resigned. He's not. going to be part of that police. department. Is there any other. consequences that he could face from an. internal investigation by um the city by. the police department um to make sure.

let's say he doesn't he doesn't operate. in a police department in any nearby. county or doesn't act as chief of. police. Is there any kind of report uh. that is put out? So again, I'm not. talking about a potential lawsuit by. this 18-year-old dispatcher, but. generally what could be the further. consequences for Mr. Hair moving. forward? Well, uh, the the city of. Cordova has gone through the the first. step in terms of of just getting him out. of that position, and that's that's a. good first step. Um, the the next real.

consequence outside of of course. criminal charges, which they I think. clearly could bring. Um, the the next. step is really um whether or not this. guy could get hired as a as a police. officer, you know, in the next town. over. Um, and the the protection of that. really is the possibility of a future. lawsuit. Any police department that. hires this guy now, if he does something. like this again, you can't say you. didn't know this guy was a danger. It's.

on the internet. Everybody knows. And so. the the hope is is that because this is. so public and because this is out there, um, these departments will make the. right decision. Um, but it's really. going to be up to them. Mayor Pate was very keen on saying they. don't know how the video was made. public. They didn't have anything to do. with it getting out. They did their best. to make sure this 18-year-old was. protected, that there was no. retaliation. Mayor Paid had indicated. that he was only made aware of it, you. know, a few days ago that he apparently.

spoke with this 18-year-old. What does that tell you? >> Well, um, it it doesn't tell me a whole. lot. The the reality is the city has. been I I think a bit tight lipped. I. mean, they're talking about this as a as. an employee incident or or an incident. in involving personnel. Um, but there's. a lot that we don't know. I mean, this. this video was taken in August. He's. he's removed in October. So, it's not. clear exactly uh when the notice of this.

event was actually given to to the. public officials involved. Um, and uh, and you know, it seems like there was an. employee who stepped in and did the. right thing um, in terms of getting this. out there. That wasn't the city that did. that. Um, but uh, I think time will tell. what's really going on there. >> And you talk about the potential of a. lawsuit that she could potentially file. against who, the department, the city, hair. I I wonder if it is dependent upon. whatever internal investigation comes. out. I also wonder if it's dependent on,

and this is interesting because normally. if it was just a he said, she said, someone might say, well, if she wasn't. quick to report it, what does that mean? But you have the tape, and the tape is. going to be a key piece of evidence. Um, talk to me about what a potential. lawsuit could look like and who she. might go after and what would the uh. causes of action be. >> Well, it could be all three. It could be. the city, it could be the police. department, um, and and it could be. hair. the the first place that my mining. goes is is a negligence lawsuit. Um,

which again really hinges on were they. supervising this guy properly for the. start. Now, a lot of the reports have. mentioned, you know, he was only in that. position for about 4 months or so. >> Yep. >> This guy has a 26-year history in law. enforcement. You got to wonder what was. happening when the cameras weren't. around. And so an investigation and and. really if she filed a lawsuit that would. be done by by her attorneys and they. could use the subpoena power and they. could use the the discovery process to.

to get information about this. But. they're looking at. what's out there. What's out there about. this guy? Were there prior reports? Um. were there prior incidences? Um and it. starts by sort of looking to see if. there's smoke, to see if whether there's. fire. Um but if you're looking at the. video to me it doesn't look like the. first time he's done something like. this. There was a sort of confidence. There was a certain ease with which he. went in and and and and did what he did. >> Now so you believe that they are going.

to look through his 26-year career and. see if there was anything in any kind of. police department, the Walker County. Police Department, assuming for a moment. there is nothing. From all accounts when. he was brought on as the chief of police. in Cordova, this guy was praised. I. talked about it before. Um, if there's. nothing then the department, the city, how could they have known that he would. have allegedly done this if it just, you. know, literally came out of nowhere? >> Well, if they if they couldn't have. known if this is if this is truly an.

anomaly, they're really not on the hook. Um, I mean, you could you could maybe. make some argument about, you know, the. the layout of the office and, you know, whether or not somebody there should be. more people in a particular space, but. realistically, um, you know, if if they. didn't have any reason to know that this. guy was dangerous, um, that that's not a. lawsuit for them. It would be a lawsuit. for anybody who hires this guy in the. future if he does it again. >> Right now, you mentioned going through. his record, going through his career, a.

There's always a possibility now that. this has been making news, someone else. come out. If there really is something, if something should surface, some. incident in his past, does it jeopardize. the cases that he worked on? >> Well, it it could, and that's one of the. things that is so severe about this. action. I mean, when you when you hire. somebody to be a police officer, let.

alone a chief of police, you are putting. in that person the the public trust, you're saying that the public trusts. this person. And there is a lot of. reliance on the testimony of police. officers and on the actions of police. officers to to meet the standard of that. public trust. And that's why this is. such a truly a betrayal of of the power. that was given to this guy. And I think. it does call into question uh past cases. and past behavior in terms of what was. going on at the Corva Police Department.

>> Jack, you mentioned um or or the police. departments he was a part of before. Jack, you mentioned um and correct me if. I'm wrong, I don't want to misquote you. that it's possible there could be. criminal charges down the line, right? What do you see? What would support. that? What do you think a criminal. charge could look like here? Well, at a. minimum, I think it is uh harassment, which is a a criminal offense in the. state of Alabama. I think there is also. uh an argument that this is a sexual. assault that we're looking at. I mean,

what he's doing here is he's he's. grabbing her head and putting his crotch. in her face. You know, that that is a. that is a touching of an intimate part. uh of her body. That is there's an. element of forcible compulsion. Um so, I. think it could be a sexual assault. charge. It's also could be a simple. assault charge. I mean, with the with. with with the grabbing of her what. appears to be her head and neck area. So, I think there are a few different. angles that a prosecutor could take if. if they want to want to bring charges on. this.

>> Jack, before I let you go, so the video. that we've shown, we've only shown. portions of it. Um, what we think are. legally significant for a case like. this. Does she have a cause of action? Can she sue whoever was responsible for. publishing this. >> potentially? So that that that area of. law is one that's developing as far as. uh you know disseminating. uh imagery of somebody that's that's. deeply personal. I I would expect that.

that would be more likely if she were a. minor at the time. Um you know her being. an adult and the fact that you know this. is something in the public interest to. be out there. the fact that her face was. blurred. Maybe. I don't think so. >> Jack Boyd, thanks so much for coming on, breaking it down for us. Appreciate it. >> Yeah, sure thing. Thanks for having me. >> And that is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank. you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get.

your podcasts. You can follow me on X or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. See you next. time. [Music].