Officer Daniel Flores was initially charged with 16 felonies after he shared recordings with the LAPD's internal affairs unit

The Los Angeles district attorney has dropped felony charges against a police officer who secretly recorded his colleagues making racist remarks.

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Daniel Flores was charged in July with 16 felony counts after submitting audio to internal affairs in early 2025. The tapes, recorded within the LAPD’s recruitment division, captured officers making explicit remarks and were first disclosed by the Los Angeles Times.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman had initially charged Flores under California’s decades-old eavesdropping statute, which mandates the consent of all parties present to legally record conversations. The original charges carried a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison.

The charges sparked swift backlash, particularly from Flores’ attorney, Alan Jackson. Speaking to the LA Times in July, Jackson warned that the case communicated that “if you document bigotry inside the LAPD, you will be the one who ends up in a courtroom. It tells them the safe move is to hear slurs and say nothing.”

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20260821132859/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/lapd-officer-daniel-flores-secret-recordings-charges-b3035944.html

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
    60·
    1 day ago

    he maintained that Flores should face consequences for breaking privacy laws. He expressed hope that the decision would encourage future whistleblowers to work alongside prosecutors through authorized channels.

    Flores was previously found guilty in a separate internal LAPD inquiry and handed a 22-day suspension without pay

    The department also initiated confidential disciplinary proceedings against the officers who made the remarks, but has not confirmed whether any disciplinary action has been enforced.

    “We hope this helps more whistleblowers come forward!” says the guy that punished the whistleblower and didn’t do shit to the racist trash. 🙄 🙄 🙄

    Additionally this misdemeanor sentence is reliant upon Flores “not breaking the law at any time within the year of his probationary period.” How much you wanna bet these asshole cops absolutely hound this man for anything and everything? 100% they will stalk this man.