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Sons of Anarchy
"Anger clouds judgment and it makes us do things that we end up regretting. Things we can never take back."
―David Hale[src]
The subject of the article is involved with Sons of Anarchy The subject of the article is involved with Sons of Anarchy Season 1 The subject of the article is involved with Sons of Anarchy Season 2 The subject of the article is involved with Sons of Anarchy Season 3

Deputy Chief David Hale was the Deputy Chief of the Charming Police Department on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Played by American actor Taylor Sheridan, Hale makes his debut on the episode "Seeds" in season one. Hale plays a recurring role as an antagonist throughout season one and two. He meets his demise in the season three premiere, "SO".

Biography[]

David Hale was born in Charming, California, the second child of Jacob Hale, a very powerful and wealthy county judge. In his youth, he delivered newspapers to many houses, including that of John Teller, President of the local Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, and his wife, Gemma.

As an adult, Hale joined the Charming Police Department, eventually rising to the rank of Deputy Chief. His boss, Chief Wayne Unser was in the pocket of SAMCRO, while his father and his elder brother, Jacob Hale Jr., wanted to push the Sons out of Charming for financial gain. Hale, however, was motivated to purge Charming of the Sons out of a genuine moral concern. Though Unser was on the verge of retirement, current SAMCRO President Clay Morrow convinced him to stay on, preventing Hale from assuming the position and becoming a threat to their illicit activities.

Unser, nicknames him "Captain America" for his black and white views and squeaky clean adherence to the law, and possibly because of his square jawed all-American looks. He drives his own personal off-road police vehicle. Hale has an intensely strong moral compass, sometimes conflicting him on where the boundaries lie between right and wrong when it comes to being a member of law enforcement.

Season 1[]

"Seeds"[]

Deputy Chief David Hale arrives at the scene of a destroyed warehouse. He finds Vic Trammel there, reminds him that the warehouse is just outside of Charming, and his jurisdiction. Hale shows him a photo of a dead man and explains he was found just inside of Charming, meaning it is also his investigation too, and hands Trammel a warrant.

As Hale explores the crime scene, he is shocked to find burnt corpses of two Mexican women in the warehouse’s basement.

Jackson "Jax" Teller, Vice President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original is stopped at a red light when Hale drives up next to him. He tells him that he knows about the Sons' gun warehouse as Jax comically plays dumb, the two both knowing what SAMCRO are really up to. Hale then drops a bomb and says that Unser is retiring at the end of the month, and when he is Chief, the Sons will no longer be allowed to run rampant.

Hale later learns that Unser has pulled his team out of the murder investigation. He is angry to hear that Unser also isn't stepping down for another 6 months. Hale hisses to Unser that he knows he is only doing it for SAMCRO but Unser stands his ground, reminding him who is in charge.

Hale arrives at the clubhouse, he talks to Jax and Clay, explaining that Unser is no longer retiring and there were two bodies at the warehouse, both are now gone. Jax and Clay are incredibly smug despite Hale's belittling. Hale finishes by telling them that SAMCRO will be history soon.

"Fun Town"[]

Charming PD learn of the rape of Tristen Oswald, a 13 year old girl and daughter of Elliott Oswald, a Charming businessman at a carnival. Hale meets his father, Jacob Hale, a judge. Jacob expresses that he has heard that Oswald has gone to the Sons to try and get some assistance in finding the perpetrator, Jacob and Leo Kessler, his business associate are worried that this will be extremely bad for business. Hale is urged by his father and Leo to find the rapist before Clay does.

Hale has arrived at TM, as the Sons were at the carnival last night, he wants to take statements from all of them. Clay is frustrated as it will take a few hours, but Hale insists.

Hale visits St. Thomas hospital to speak to the Oswalds further. He passes by Tara Knowles, who seems flustered but she insists she is fine as she directs him to Tristen's room. Hale hints to Oswald that he may be making a bad decision, alluding to the fact that he knows he is working with Clay, but Oswald brushes him off.

As Hale returns to the hospital later, he sees SAMCRO speaking with Ernest Darby, the leader of the Nordics, a white supremacist group. This gets him suspicious as he knows the Nords and the Sons don't exactly see eye to eye.

Tara speaks to Hale, he says that he will look in to if a restraining order she got in another state is still valid in California. He attempts to ask further questions but Tara won't say much. She also agrees to try and get Hale some time to speak with Tristen.

Hale attempts to speak to Tristen, but is caught by Karen Oswald and is given a mouthful.

Hale later sees Jax rushing out of the hospital, believing he must have a new lead, he goes to follow him. Upon reaching his truck, he realises that Jax had burst his tyres.

Some time later, Hale is able to get back to the carnival, where he finds the workers bloody and beaten, they refuse to tell him anything. He knows that SAMCRO have beaten him to the punch, literally and physically.

Later, he stumbles across SAMCRO member Juan Carolos "Juice" Ortiz outside the police station wearing a diaper and threatens to write him up for indecent exposure. ATF agent Josh Kohn arrives at the station and says that he is working on an interstate weapons case involving the Sons of Anarchy, much to Hale’s delight.

"Patch Over"[]

Kohn chats with Hale, Hale explains that SAMCRO have been in Charming as long as he can remember. Some locals support them and believe they are keeping the corporate bogeymen away. Hale also admits that they even have assistance from inside the police department.

"AK-51"[]

Agent June Stahl of the ATF arrived at TM backed by Hale. Stahl says she is looking for the owner of TM. Clay steps forward and says he is the owner. He is immediately arrested. Clay asks what the charge is and Stahl says he isn't being charged yet, she is just looking for some information about Nate Meineke. Clay states he doesn't know who that is and Stahl informs him that he is responsible for holding up a prison transport and killing three people. The last call on his phone is from TM.

Stahl soon learns that the phone evidence isn't enough to secure a warrant. Kohn becomes involved and shows Stahl some photos of SAMCRO in Nevada the previous week shooting weapons in a gunfight with a rival motorcycle club. Hale also has information on Piermont "Piney" Winston, another member of SAMCRO of whom Nate was previously in a platoon with in Vietnam.

Hale is sitting with Clay when suddenly Gemma is bought in, Clay is baffled as to what Gemma could've possibly done and even more so when Hale tells him that he assaulted a woman, Clay stands and heads to the door and begins to yell at Gemma demanding to know what she's done. Gemma attacked the woman that Clay slept with in Nevada.

After the clubhouse search uncovered no real crimes the Sons could be charged with, something else caught Stahl's interest. Oil barrels coming from Dungloe in Ireland. Stahl theorises that this links the Sons to the True IRA; she is going to call all the favours she can to finish off the Sons for good. Hale asks about Kohn and Stahl says that she called his supervisor who believes him to be on vacation. On her way out Stahl tells the officers to cut Clay loose.

"Old Bones"[]

Jax comes in to the station and tells Hale to keep Kohn on a leash; he expands, telling Hale that he isn't really here for SAMCRO and doesn't care about the investigation, he just wants Tara and he is an insane stalker. Hale pieces it all together in his head, and realises that is why Tara was asking him about restraining orders. Unser arrives, telling Hale they have a report of a body found near a construction site. Hale tells Jax he will Kohn. Jax reminds Hale that he will if he doesn't.

Hale visits Tara and tells her that he knows about Kohn from Jax. Hale promises that Kohn is done and will be leaving Charming.

Hale tells Stahl the bones found on i44 belong to an affiliate of the Sons. Stahl isn't too convinced much can be done with it, that is until Hale explains he has the man's son coming in, who is still closely affiliated with the Sons.

Lowell Harland Jr. enters. Hale explains the situation with his dead father but Lowell isn't too surprised, seemingly already knowing the truth. Hale and Stahl start to feed Lowell thoughts, they tell him he must have done something to the Sons to warrant him such a grisly demise, and then for him to be buried with their enemies? He must have really pissed off Clay. Suddenly Unser enters, telling Lowell to leave and demanding to know who Stahl is. Hale then learns from Unser that Kohn is still in town, he has just seen him at the barbershop.

Hale receives a call from Jax, who he foolishly reveals to that Kohn is at the barbershop, but insists to Jax he will take care of it.

Back at the station, a bloodied Kohn sits with Hale and Stahl, he and Jax fought at the barbershop. They till him he is finished, according to witnesses he attacked Jax first, luckily for him Jax isn't pressing charges. They also know about him stalking Tara and various other crimes he has committed during his stay in Charming. Before he leaves, Kohn pleads with the pair to stop Tara being involved with Jax.

"Hell Followed"[]

After an attempt on Darby's life the previous night, Hale is taking his statement. Darby tells Hale he knows it was the Mayans that tried to kill him, not SAMCRO. Hale's general disinterest in Darby's predicament earns him a slug in the face, causing other officers to rush in and restrain him. Hale sneers that Darby caught him off guard before stepping out of the room.

"Better Half"[]

Stahl returns to the Charming police station with Luann Delaney, a porn producer and wife of imprisoned SAMCRO member Otto "Big Otto" Delaney to find a furious Unser who has been moved out of his office so the ATF can set up shop. Stahl then says to Unser that his personal and business relationship with the Sons is well documented and he poses a threat to the investigation, she orders he be removed from the station. Hale stands beside and watches this all unfold.

Stahl and Hale head in to Unser's office where they recap what they currently have on the Sons and the IRA. They know about the oil barrels coming in from IRA territory loaded with firearms. They also know that the Sons IRA connection, Michael McKeavey was found beaten to death 2 weeks ago, they suspect the man responsible was Brenan Hefner, the corrupt port commissioner who controlled the gun shipments; Stahl believes a deal went south and McKeavey was killed as a result. Hefner has also just been found shot to death, they believe the Sons are responsible.

Stahl says that all this evidence is cirsumstantial, they cannot prove a thing, she wants to invoke the RICO act and use Luann and Otto as leverage against SAMCRO. Stahl also wants to use the other women in SAMCRO, specifically Tara, Donna Winston, Harry "Opie" Winston's wife and Rita "Cherry" Zambell, Kip "Half-Sack" Epps' lover, who is also a felon, for further leverage against the club, saying that all of them are privy to SAMCRO's illegal activities. Hale is quick to jump in and defend Tara, saying that she isn't one of them, but Stahl says that surveillance says otherwise.

The following day, Hale and Stahl learn that Cherry has escaped custody, they believe that whilst they were having sex the previous night, SAMCRO snuck in and broke her out, leaving Luann behind. Hale is concerned as Cherry was a big part of the case but Stahl shares some good news with him. 2 men have been ID'd relation to Hefner's murder and Hale says that they look like Opie and Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson. Stahl says they will have official confirmation tomorrow.

Hale arrives to speak to Stahl who has just finished watching Otto and Luann's visit and says the eyewitness was unable to get a positive ID for Opie, but they have gotten one for Bobby. Stahl says it doesn't matter as they will all fall in time.

Hale watches on the cameras as Stahl enters the interrogation room with Otto, she has his typed and signed statements. Otto looks over the paperwork one final time but claims he doesn't have his glasses with him, Stahl leans in to read what is written to him when suddenly he jumps to his feet, grabbing Stahl's head and beating it against the metal table repeatedly. Officers soon rush in and beat and restrain Otto, who laughs to himself. Stahl staggers out of the interrogation room, saying that she is going to "bury these assholes".

"Capybara"[]

Hale watches whilst Stahl interrogates a detained Opie, Hale grows concerned as he realises that Stahl has set Opie up and has made it look like he has turned on the club, putting him and his family in extreme danger. Outside the room Hale confronts Stahl about her plan, Stahl becomes engraged when Hale doesn't agree with what she is doing and claims it is wrong and someone is going to get hurt. Stahl quickly switches it up and plays nice, telling Hale she appreciates his concern.

Stahl checks in with Eviqua Michaels, a young girl and the witness who saw SAMCRO kill Hefner, Stahl tells Hale they are moving her to secure location until Bobby's trial. Stahl then has Hale escorted out of the building.

"The Sleep of Babies"[]

Hale listens in on a private conversation between Agent Smith and Stahl. Smith reports to Stahl that the truck bug is gone which means that SAMCRO have definetly found the bug and now think that Opie is working with them, Stahl orders another team to be put on Opie to keep him safe.

Hale sits alone when Unser finds him. Hale tells Unser that he has some information but if he tells him he is betraying the badge, if he doesn't then someone could get hurt. Unser sits with him and attempts to covnince him to spill what he knows.

Hale finds Stahl packing, she tells him that due to their being a shootout in Oakland earlier, the FBI has gotten involved, outranking her and pulling the ATF out of Charming. Stahl is disappointed, telling Hale they will have to settle with Bobby. Hale then tells Stahl that she has put Opie's life in danger, Stahl brushes this off, saying that the witnesses identity will be out tomorrow and then SAMCRO will know that Opie is innocent. Hale is furious with Stahl as she tells him that she won't protect Opie any longer and has dumped a big mess on the Charming PD to try and resolve. Stahl ignores his frustration, telling him that at least they had some fun.

With news of a shooting, Charming PD race downtown, they find Donna Winston, Opie's wife dead. Stahl arrives at the scene and Hale immediately approaches her, beside himself with rage, telling her Donna's blood is on her hands. Smith steps in front of Stahl but Hale punches him across the face, knocking him to the floor.

"The Revelator"[]

Unser and Hale discuss Donna's death, Unser says they have some information on the stolen car that was used in the hit. Hale is angry at this suggestion, telling Unser they both know SAMCRO is responsible. Hale pleads with Unser to do the right thing and do something about SAMCRO for once, for Donna. Unser says he cannot, stating he has his own problems to try and resolve. Unser states that perhaps SAMCRO will resolve their own issues once the truth comes to light.

Jax heads to the station to speak to Unser to see if there are any leads on Donna's murder. Unser says they have nothing and Hale pulls Jax aside to speak to him in private. Hale tells Jax that he knew Stahl was setting up Opie up, planting bugs in his truck and phone, Hale theorises that Clay found the bugs and tried to off Opie for being a rat, Donna was a tragic accident. Hale says that they know that he and Jax aren't on the same side but what happened to Donna, both of them know it is wrong.

The following day, the club ride with Donna's funeral procession to the graveyard. Many associates, friends and family are also present. Jax arrives late, looking worse for wear, Tara stands and places his kutte on him, before kissing him passionately. Jax briefly pays his respects to Donna before taking off.


Season 2[]

At the start of Season Two, Hale is introduced to Ethan Zobelle by his older brother, Jacob, in the hopes of getting SAMCRO out of Charming. Zobelle leads the White separatist group, the League of American Nationals (L.O.A.N.). David, aware of L.O.A.N's racial beliefs, initially refused Zobelle's help (Jacob, a businessman who hopes to profit from SAMCRO's absence in Charming, is not concerned with L.O.A.N.'s beliefs or methods). However, David is so determined to ridding Charming of SAMCRO that he begins to accept Zobelle's assistance (or, at least, turns a blind eye towards L.O.A.N.'s activities) even though he knows that they use more violent tactics than the Sons. L.O.A.N.'s first illegal action was giving Ernest Darby and the Nords the backing to operate a meth lab in Charming. SAMCRO discovered that the Nords were dealing meth in Charming and tipped off Hale, who then visited the property where the meth lab was located. Although Hale threatened Darby that he would get a warrant to search the property, he instead decided to tell Unser that he investigated SAMCRO's tip and that there was no meth lab. SAMCRO, now feeling that Hale had fallen in with Zobelle's group, took the matter into their own hands and destroyed the lab themselves. Zobelle then tried to force Hale into taking action against SAMCRO by providing surveillance footage of Opie blowing up the meth lab that Hale allowed to operate. At the same time, Hale is also given footage of himself apparently taking a bribe from Darby (actually just a gift certificate to Zobelle's Impeccable Smokes shop opening). After being reprimanded by Unser for collaborating with Zobelle, being informed by Usner about what Zobelle's people did to Gemma, and being told he needs to be the "clean one", Hale gave Clay and Jax information they needed to sink a real estate scam run by Jacob Hale and let them know that Zobelle was surveilling them. Hale also told them that he wasn't Unser and wasn't on anyone's payroll.

Throughout season two, Hale started to show some signs of cooperation with SAMCRO, realizing that L.O.A.N. was more of threat to Charming than SAMCRO. He began to understand Unser's behavior more, realizing that the elderly chief didn't have much of a choice anymore in whether or not to deal with Clay Morrow and the Sons. In the episode "The Culling," Unser informs Hale that he will be the new acting chief (Possibly signifying Unser's retirement in the near future).

In the second season finale, perhaps adopting some of Unser's attitude, Hale appeared to not be concern with what SAMCRO did to AJ Weston and Ethan Zobelle as long as it was not done in Charming. Ethan Zobelle, cornered in a deli outside of Charming by SAMCRO, called Hale for help. Hale lied and told Zobelle that the sheriffs were on the way, but after hanging up he made no effort to inform the local sheriffs. He was last seen consoling a distraught Tara Knowles over the kidnap of Abel Teller.

Season 3[]

Season 3 starts off with Hale moving out of his office and into his new Charming Police chiefs office. His brother arrives who is in the running for mayor of Charming against Eliot Oswald. When told by Jacob that he will need the chief of police on his side David responds with "you got it Jake". At the end of episode 1 during Half Sack's wake there is a drive by shooting on the Sons. Hale steps out of his truck returning fire on the attackers when he is struck and killed by the fleeing van. David Hale's death, and its connections to SAMCRO, would lead to many Charming residents growing resentful of the MC's presence throughout the third season. David's older brother Jacob would also use the death to his own ends, using public resentment towards SAMCRO to further his mayoral campaign. Not only did he attempt to discredit Elliott Oswald as a candidate by bringing to light Oswald's connections to SAMCRO, he also used public sentiment to help eliminate Charming PD and bring local policing under the purview of the San Joaquin County Sheriff Department. He doesnt like Unser

Gallery[]

Trading Cards[]

Appearances[]

Appearances-Logo-SOA Season 1 appearances
"Pilot" "Seeds" "Fun Town" "Patch Over" "Giving Back"
"AK-51" "Old Bones" "The Pull" "Hell Followed" "Better Half"
"Capybara" "The Sleep of Babies" "The Revelator"
Appearances-Logo-SOA Season 2 appearances
"Albification" "Small Tears" "Fix" "Eureka" "Smite"
"Falx Cerebri" "Gilead" "Potlatch" "Fa Guan" "Balm"
"Service" "The Culling" "Na Trioblóidí"
Appearances-Logo-SOA Season 3 appearances
"SO" "Oiled" "Caregiver" "Home" "Turning and Turning"
"The Push" "Widening Gyre" "Lochán Mór" "Turas" "Fírinne"
"Bainne" "June Wedding" "NS"
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