SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco Police Department Officer, Jason Lai was arrested on Wednesday, March 23 after an internal affairs probe. In August 2015, the Internal Affairs Division was informed of a sexual assault allegation made against an off-duty member of the SFPD and an immediate investigation was conducted into the allegations.
According to a press release from the SFPD, after completing their SFPD investigation, the District Attorney’s Office reviewed the facts of the case and Internal Affairs investigators sought an arrest warrant for the individual. Officials discovered there was insufficient evidence to warrant a sexual assault charge, but probable cause did exist to arrest the person for violations related to use and access to confidential criminal offender information and motor vehicle records.
Lai was charged on Wednesday with two misdemeanor counts of Unlawful Possession of Local Criminal Offender History Information and 4 misdemeanor counts of Misuse of Confidential Department of Motor Vehicles Information. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave during the investigation and remains on unpaid leave to this day.
While conducting the investigation, allegations surfaced that a second sworn member of the police department had engaged in conduct that interfered with the investigation. This investigation is still open and on-going, but this individual has since separated from the department.
Maintaining the public’s trust is of utmost importance to the members of the SFPD and the department will continue to work hard to build and maintain this trust. The Internal Affairs Division launched an immediate investigation and worked closely with the District Attorney’s Office in this investigation.
