By Tony Perry
February 18, 2014, 11:50
a.m.
SAN DIEGO — A suspended San
Diego police officer is being charged with two felony and three misdemeanor
counts of abusing four women while on duty, Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis announced
Tuesday.
"This defendant was in
a position of authority and he abused the public trust," Dumanis said at a
news conference.
More women have made
allegations, which are being investigated for possible charges, Dumanis said.
Christopher Hays, 30,
decorated for bravery in 2012, is charged with two counts of felony false
imprisonment through the use of "menace" and three counts of
misdemeanor battery.
Hays pleaded not guilty at
an arraignment Tuesday afternoon. He remained free on $130,000 bail posted
after his Feb. 9 arrest.
Dumanis said that if Hays
is convicted, he could get up to three years and eight months in prison.
Hays received a medal in
2012 for dashing into a burning building to save a woman who was trapped on the
second floor. He also served with the Marines in Iraq as a lance corporal. He
has been with the Police Department for four years.
One of the incidents in
which he has been charged allegedly occurred during a domestic-violence
call. Others involved a shoplifting
suspect, a homeless woman and a woman interviewed during a street patrol.
Hays is married and the
father of two. His father-in-law, Mark Jones, is an assistant chief with the
San Diego department.
Hays was suspended in
mid-January as the district attorney reviewed the police investigation to
determine whether criminal charges would be filed.
In 2011, San Diego officer
Anthony Arevalos was convicted of demanding sexual favors from women after making traffic stops.
He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison. He was fired after
the accusations were made.
The City Council has
approved a total of $2.3 million in payments to women assaulted by Arevalos.
One case has gone to trial.
