Prosecutors have charged an Los Angeles police officer with illegally recording his coworkers whom the officer complained regularly made racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks while working in the department’s recruiting and employment division, the office where people applying for jobs as police officers were being evaluated for their character, suitability and qualifications.
Officer Daniel Flores, who filed a harassment lawsuit against the city of LA in June that made detailed allegations against his supervisor and others, was charged Friday by the LA County District Attorney’s Office with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping on, or recording, confidential communications.
The recordings were allegedly made in 2024.
Flores could face up to 13 years in prison if he’s convicted on all counts, the DA’s office said in a statement.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson, who is representing Flores, expressed shock that the officers making the alleged racist comments weren’t the target of the DA’s case, rather only the officer who reported them.
“Daniel Flores did not leak this material. He did not sell it, post it or hand it to a reporter. He walked it into Internal Affairs and gave it to his own department, in an official complaint, because he believed the Department would do something about it,” Jackson wrote.
“The Department’s answer was to investigate him. The District Attorney’s answer is to prosecute him.”
The harassment lawsuit, first reported by the LA Times, alleges that beginning in 2021, the unnamed supervisor and coworkers made derogatory comments about officers and others who were Black, Asian, gay or Hispanic.
Flores said he began to experience physical distress and illness while working with the officers who were making the remarks, the suit said.
Police officers in California are generally permitted to make surreptitious recordings while investigating crimes, but the DA’s office said in a news release these conversations were confidential.
“It doesn’t matter where you work or who you are – a neighbor, a coworker or, in this case, a police officer. Your right to privacy in a confidential conversation is protected, no matter who is doing the recording or, with few exceptions, why they are doing the recording,” DA Nathan Hochman said in the statement.
“For those illegal eavesdroppers, please know that my office will prosecute them for their actions surreptitiously recording others.”
While the union the represents most LAPD officers, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, did not commented on the case as of Friday afternoon, Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement that he supports the “legal process now underway.”
“The LAPD’s Internal Affairs Division conducted a thorough investigation, identified criminal conduct, and presented the facts for filing consideration, as is our responsibility when potential criminal conduct by an employee is discovered,” McDonnell said. “I am committed to ensuring the workplace is professional, respectful, and free from misconduct, and any employee who violates those standards will be held accountable.”
Flores is expected to make an initial appearance in court Aug. 10.
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