Local

Married New Smyrna Beach officer met women in parks while on duty, investigators say

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Police in New Smyrna Beach found one of their officers neglected his duties by meeting women while he was supposed to be working.

Officer Beau Estrada resigned in January while the internal investigation into his activities was going on.

Investigators got a tip from a citizen who claimed he saw the officer having sex on the job, so they began following Estrada to different parks.

They said they discovered Estrada was meeting women at a park on Peninsula Drive, which prompted the investigation.

When investigators started following him while he was on duty, they captured photos of him meeting and kissing women.

One day, they observed him meeting three different women at three different parks while on duty. None of them were his wife.

One of the women told investigators she had sex with Estrada while he was on duty.

They said Estrada admitted to meeting women, but denied having sex with them while on the clock.

During another incident, investigators found Estrada neglected to take a domestic violence report on a case in which a man was seen bleeding from his left eye.

Around the same time as the call, Estrada's body camera video showed him texting two different women, investigators said.

Estrada resigned before the investigations into the incidents were complete

A police lieutenant released a statement saying the New Smyrna Beach Police Department, “Take(s) incidents like this seriously, and Estrada's actions don't reflect the majority of great work done by others in the department every day.”

Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.