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Huntington Beach Police Officer Charged With Impersonating Fellow Officer Who Began Dating Ex-Girlfriend

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) - A Huntington Beach police officer has been charged with two misdemeanors for impersonating a fellow officer online in what prosecutors described as an apparent romantic dispute.

Steven Tennant, 32, of Yorba Linda, is accused of posting a fellow officer's photo and personal phone number on the dating website Doublelist.com on two separate occasions in Sept. 2020, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Prosecutors say the ads were posted after the other officer had begun dating Tennant's ex-girlfriend.

The other officer became aware of the ads when he started receiving texts from unknown numbers referencing the internet postings featuring his picture and personal cell phone number, police said.

An investigation was launched after the officer reported the harassment to a supervisor.

Tennant is charged with two misdemeanor counts of internet impersonation for the purpose of harming, intimidating, threatening, and defrauding.

"Impersonating another individual on the internet is not a joke. It is a crime that could result in serious harm," said Spitzer. "This is not 'boys will be boys' or 'cops will be cops' behavior. It is curious and beyond disturbing that a sworn police officer would engage in such reckless behavior to endanger the safety of a fellow officer."

If convicted, Tennant faces a maximum sentence of two years in Orange County jail.

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