Born and raise in Battle Creek, Michigan, Paul Andrew Hale attended Vanderbilt University, earned a degree in geology, and moved to Raleigh to restore houses. He graduated from the Police Academy in October 1990, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, a Detroit motorcycle officer. 

Detective Hale had served seven years with the RPD when he was promoted to detective in the Drugs and Vice Unit on July 7, 1997.  Just four days later, on July 11, he was participating in a stakeout at the apartment of Kawame Mays, a murder suspect.  As Detective Hale and other officers approached Mr. Mays to arrest him, he pulled out a gun, fatally wounding Detective Hale. Mr. Mays is serving a life sentence for the murder.

Detective Hale was survived by his wife, Connie, and their two daughters, Jessica and Stephanie, as well as by his parents, a brother, and a sister.