SAPD 2019 Detective of the Year charged with child annoyance

On Friday, December 17, 2021, the Santa Ana Police Department received notification of potential criminal conduct involving Santa Ana Police Department Detective, Greg Beaumarchais. Upon assessing the information, the Department’s Internal Affairs Unit determined the matter to be criminal in nature and the Police Department took immediate and swift action in referring these allegations to the appropriate local and federal authorities. Our department learned of this information on a Friday, and the following Monday, we directly engaged with federal partners to initiate a criminal investigation.
 
Detective Beaumarchais was immediately placed on Administrative Leave and will remain on Administrative Leave until the conclusion of the criminal and administrative investigations.

On August 2, 2022, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced that it has filed one misdemeanor count against Detective Beaumarchais, under California Penal Code 647.6(a)(2) – Child annoyance.  If convicted, the charge carries a sentence of up to one year in county jail.

Prosecutors allege that Beaumarchais sent graphic messages to the civilian decoy between December 2021 and January 2022. That person contacted authorities to report that the graphic messages were being sent by someone claiming to be a 45-year-old police officer, according to the OCDA.
 
The Santa Ana Police Department has fully cooperated, and will continue to cooperate with all agencies in connection with the criminal investigation case.
 
“Misconduct, of any type, negatively impacts the commitment to public service demonstrated by the overwhelming majority of our officers. Our Department will not tolerate inappropriate behavior or alleged criminal conduct that infringes on the trust provided by the community we are hired to serve.  We will ensure a complete, thorough and objective administrative investigation is conducted immediately following the conclusion of the criminal case,” said Chief David Valentin.