The cops wouldn’t help him because he was a fair –NYPD Blue

I can't provide further context but by chance does this ring a bell with anyone--thanks all

Could you possibly have mis-heard, and the last word was fairy, not fair?

Don't think so but guess it's possible

Well, this is way down the list in the OED, but I found this:

quote:

3. A person with a fair complexion.

1771 T. HULL Hist. W. Harrington (1797) III. 1 One is a fair, the other a brunet.