Database Update Includes New Roster and Trove of Police Violence Records

Over 8,000 records pertaining to SAPD use of force and misconduct now accessible on the No Secret Police database alongside updated roster, photos, and payroll data. Renewed access to ZIP code map.

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Graphic by Joey Scott.

SANTA ANA - The No Secret Police database has had a major update: Aside from the 2026 roster and 2025 payroll information, individual officers’ height, weight, gender, ethnicity, and year of hire have been added alongside a searchable trove of misconduct and use of force records. A new data analysis page sorts officers’ profiles from highest compensated to lowest, based on the city of Santa Ana’s data. The public also has renewed access to an interactive map created in 2021 that shows officers’ residential ZIP codes. This all provides a data-informed, journalistic image of who works at the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), how many taxpayer dollars are earmarked for police officers’ salaries, and who perpetrates the violence used to maintain control in the city. The database does not include liability payouts that stem from legal claims arising from SAPD misconduct or other violent incidents perpetrated against the public.

The collection of misconduct records, which contains over 8,000 files, is a window into the decades of violence that SAPD has committed against community members and had long kept hidden from the public. This changed only in 2019 when state law mandated the disclosure of certain types of misconduct and use of force records, including deadly shootings. Inadvertent was one of the first journalism outlets to obtain these records in May of 2019, but SAPD then slow-walked the release of the remaining files. SAPD is still releasing these records but does not announce it on their communication platforms the same way they do when they arrest a member of the public. The records exist on the city’s public records portal, but the general public has not been told how to find them. This is precisely why Inadvertent has downloaded all of the records and uploaded them to a public and easily searchable Google Pinpoint collection.

Each individual officer’s profile in the No Secret Police database also contains a button that links to a search for their badge number appearing in the collection. Not every officer appears in the records released yet, but that does not mean that the officer has not been involved in any cases of misconduct or uses of force. Both the NSP database and Pinpoint collection are limited to what the city of Santa Ana has released or is required to release under state law. Outliers such as Nickolas Cavendish’s death threat of an unarmed driver or former Major Enforcement Team (MET) members Andres Gil’s and Dorin Buchanan’s DUI arrests have also been uploaded to the collection. These types of incidents are not covered by state law and have only been brought to light by Inadvertent’s reporting.

Inadvertent encourages SAPD officers to come forward about other criminals within their ranks or other department issues. Your identity will be protected when you reach out.

No Secret Police is a public records database maintained by Inadvertent. It was created in the wake of the city of Santa Ana’s push to expand mass surveillance in the city through its automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems. SAPD, through its corporate partners, Flock Safety and Motorola, arbitrarily collects extensive amounts of data on Santa Ana residents and is not transparent about who is using the ALPRs or how they use the data, hiding the surveillance practice behind a veil of secrecy. Furthermore, when police commit violence against members of the public, individual officers are often shielded by the department and its political wing, the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA). No Secret Police has built a dossier on all individual SAPD officers.

The entire database is made up of public records that have been sourced through requests made to the city of Santa Ana. None of the information displayed is confidential.

When first published in 2021, the interactive ZIP code map revealed that 96% of SAPD sworn officers did not live in Santa Ana. The city has refused to release updated data while also claiming that more of its officers are from Santa Ana. ZIP code data is anonymized and contains no information linking any officer to the dataset.

The first iteration of the database received the blessing of SAPOA President John Kachirisky, stating that the database, “...showcases the legacy of both past and present members of this department who have selflessly served the Santa Ana community. The individuals featured, whether still in uniform or retired, represent the unwavering commitment and sacrifice that define our profession.”

This second iteration of the No Secret Police database represents a major step toward real, radical transparency of police agencies in California. More records are being processed to be added to the database. The public can support this effort by becoming a paid subscriber to Inadvertent or giving one-time.