The latest sex crimes investigation involving a San Diego police officer doesn't appear to have damaged police Chief Bill Lansdowne's standing in the community, says the city’s Union-Tribune. A U-T San Diego/10News poll found that 69 percent of San Diego County residents rate Lansdowne's handling of the case as fair to excellent while 19 percent gave him a “poor” rating. Forty-eight percent of respondents said Lansdowne should remain police chief while 24 percent said he should step down.
Officer Christopher Hays, 30, who stands accused of inappropriately touching or forcing four women to perform sex acts from October to December, has been charged with two felony counts of false imprisonment and three misdemeanor charges of sexual battery. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday. It's the latest incident of alleged officer misconduct in recent years, including the 2011 sex corruption case of Officer Anthony Arevalos. Lansdowne has proposed an audit that would look at the handling of misconduct cases, recruiting, the backgrounding process, ethics training and the internal affairs system.