Small Town Alabama Police Chief Resigns as Video of Him Sexually Harassing Teen Dispatcher Surfaces

A newly hired, small town Alabama police chief abruptly resigned this week amidst an investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed an 18-year-old dispatcher working her first job.

Cordova Mayor Jeremy Pate told AL.com that Jason Hare, a husband and father, resigned on Monday, less than four months after he was hired.

“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,” Pate said in a statement provided to the outlet on Tuesday.

Pate acknowledged the investigation and said it was administrative, not criminal.

AL.com obtained video of one incident of harassment, recorded on August 26. In the video, Hare is seen approaching the teen as she sits at her desk, reaching out and playing with the hair on the top of her head. She shoos him away, but Hare leans far over her as they both appear to look at the computer screen.

Hare grabs her head at one point, pulling her toward him while he stands and she sits. He stands extremely close and at one point appears to playfully choke her with his hands around her neck.

A family member of the dispatcher told AL.com that the young woman was “scared to death” because it was her first job and her harasser was the police chief. She did not report the incident, the family member said, but another employee saw the video and asked her if she OK. That employee alerted supervisors.

“She wasn’t going to say anything,” the family member said, “because she didn’t know what to do.”

Cordova is a small town of about 2,000 people about 30 miles northwest of Birmingham. Hare was sworn in as the town’s chief of police in late June, coming from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.