Santa Ana Cop Nickolas Cavendish Threatened To Kill During Traffic Stop, City Paid $417,500 After Legal Claims
Officers turned off body worn cameras while traffic stop continued.
Publisher’s Note: Reader’s discretion is advised as this story contains extremely violent and graphic language.
Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officer Nickolas Cavendish made a death threat during a traffic stop that resulted in the driver and passenger of the vehicle filing legal claims with the city of Santa Ana which were settled for $417,500. The claims, filed by Jacob Smith and Pierce Peiffer, alleged that SAPD violated their civil rights on when they “unlawfully” stopped and detained them on December 16, 2023 “without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.”
They also claimed that SAPD assaulted them and took their belongings without returning them.
Body worn camera footage captured approximately two minutes of the incident but is cut short by officers Joseph Biebrich and Timothy Holt shutting their cameras off while Cavendish threatened to kill Jacob Smith. Biebrich and Holt did not respond to questions about why they turned their cameras off during the middle of the incident.
Cavendish told Smith, who is sitting in the driver’s seat with his hands up, “If I ever catch you back in fucking Santa Ana, this body-cam is gonna go in my car and I’m gonna fucking bash your fucking brains in, do you understand? I’m gonna put my gun in your fucking face and once you fucking reach for your waistband, I’m gonna fucking [incomprehensible], I’ll put your goddamn brains over the fucking sidewalk, and I’ll call your fucking mom to [incomprehensible]. Does that make sense?”
It is unclear why Cavendish threatened to kill Smith as Peiffer was pulled out of the vehicle and thrown onto the car door by an unknown SAPD officer. Incident reports make no mention of weapons or violent behavior from Smith or Peiffer. Smith and Peiffer were unreachable through their attorney.
Cavendish did not respond to questions about the death threat and whether he was interviewed for an investigation into the incident that SAPD claimed happened.
SAPD Chief Robert Rodriguez did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the officers’ involved and if Cavendish is still on patrol.
The body worn camera footage released comes just as the police oversight commission is set to begin its work. Two weeks ago, the city appointed T. Jack Morse to serve as the commission director, yet at the same meeting, an effort to gut the commission’s powers was made public. The effort began in a secretive ad hoc committee that the city refused to release details about via a public records request. Under the potentially new rules for the commission, only after SAPD internal affairs completes its investigation is the commission allowed to review.
Morse said via email that “any misconduct by SAPD officers, if true, is concerning.” He could not speak specifically about how policy applies, stating that he has only been director for 2 weeks and does not have all of the information yet. He also cited the department’s body worn camera policy which has a relevant section that reads, “Unless otherwise authorized by this policy or approved by a supervisor, BWCs should remain activated until the call for service or law enforcement-related function has concluded.”
Current SAPD internal affairs (IA) commander, Jorge Lopez, is a former Strike Team member— the unit that SAPD revived as the Major Enforcement Team (MET) in 2020 with new members and the blessing of former Chief David Valentin. Lopez was made head of IA after Rodriguez was appointed chief of police. Rodriguez was head of IA in 2020 during the Culichi Town Incident where he allegedly covered up the sexual assault of a child by MET members.
Via phone interview, civil rights and criminal defense attorney Christian Contreras referred to Penal Code 422 when asked about when words become a criminal death threat. The penal code states:
“Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the statement…is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out…and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his…own safety…shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail…or by imprisonment in the state prison.”
Contreras added “It’s a huge issue for officers to turn off their their body worn video in this instance because it prevents relevant evidence to be in the possession of the person who may be adverse to them, whether it’s in a criminal case or a civil case against them.”
In a third body worn camera video, Peiffer is seen handcuffed and placed into the back of a police car, however incident reports released did not mention a detainment or arrest. It is unclear what prompted SAPD to seemingly release Peiffer, but a source with knowledge of the incident said that the identity of Smith’s father — a Huntington Beach Police Department lieutenant — impacted the situation.
While the city did settle the claims out, which means that no one is technically at fault, the total amount paid, according to Contreras, is “The city’s acknowledgment of serious misconduct on behalf of the officer.”
“If I ever catch you back in fucking Santa Ana, this body-cam is gonna go in my car and I’m gonna fucking bash your fucking brains in, do you understand? I’m gonna put my gun in your fucking face and once you fucking reach for your waistband, I’m gonna fucking [incomprehensible], I’ll put your goddamn brains over the fucking sidewalk, and I’ll call your fucking mom to [incomprehensible]. Does that make sense?”
City council met on October 15, 2024 to discuss the legal claims. Sixteen days later, on October 31, 2024, the city manager signed both settlement agreements that had already been signed by all relevant parties. The separate settlement amounts were $225,000 and $192,500 for Peiffer and Smith, respectively.
Council member Hernandez expressed concern about liabilities stemming from SAPD incidents. “This is a department that you’ll regularly see on closed session agendas, related to having to payout settlements. My concern is that from 2010-2020, the $24.5 million that was paid out by police misconduct lawsuits— I worry that we may be surpassing those numbers from 2020 to 2030 as the police continue to violate the public’s trust and continue to break the law and engage in misconduct,” Hernandez said via phone interview.
SAPD Public Information Officer Natalie Garcia did not respond to questions about the incident forwarded to her.
The mayor and rest of city council did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Edit 12/24/25 11:02 AM: Morse’s attribution was inadvertently written twice. The second instance was removed.