Sgt. Charles ‘Chuck’ Hale – Merced County Sheriff’s Office

In 2014, Sgt. Hale was found to have deceived a judge to obtain a warrant for the arrest of Ethan Morse, who was falsely charged with murder. This judicial deception led to Morse spending nearly four months in jail before being declared factually innocent. A jury awarded Morse $526,649 in damages, and his legal team sought $1.76 million in attorney’s fees and $68,303 in court costs. The case highlighted serious misconduct within the department and resulted in significant financial liability for the county. ([fresnobee.com](https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article215042915.html?utm_source=openai))

## Officer Forum Links:
– [Sgt. Charles 'Chuck' Hale](https://watchaudits.com/forums/topic/sgt-charles-chuck-hale/)

Forum Links

Posted in Audits Law Enforcement Agencies: Officer Names: States:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Police Accountability Database

Our Mission

We're building a comprehensive database of police interactions to promote accountability and transparency in law enforcement.

How You Can Participate

  • View the Blog: Read about documented police interactions
  • Share Your Experience: Submit your own police interaction story
  • Browse the Forums: Check if your local law enforcement has been documented

Important Community Guidelines

It is strictly against our rules to:

  • Make threats of any kind
  • Share private information such as personal emails, home addresses, or phone numbers

Violation of these rules will result in immediate content removal and possible account suspension.

Why This Matters

By organizing this data, we can potentially demonstrate when officers were previously aware of laws they later claim ignorance of, challenging qualified immunity defenses and promoting accountability.