LAPD officer accused of illegally recording coworkers to document alleged racist, sexist comments
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The officer faces 16 felony counts after submitting more than 120 recordings to Internal Affairs instead of releasing them publicly.
Los Angeles Police Department officer Daniel Flores has been accused of secretly taping colleagues whose conversations allegedly included racist, sexist and homophobic remarks. The charges arrive amid scrutiny of police workplace culture, including a Houston officer’s alleged rant and past LAPD racist remarks.
CBS Los Angeles reported that Flores, 43, faces 16 felony counts of eavesdropping on or recording confidential communications. Prosecutors allege he made the recordings in 2024 while assigned to a unit that conducted background investigations for LAPD job candidates.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Flores recorded colleagues without their permission. District Attorney Nathan Hochman condemned the alleged remarks but said California law protects confidential conversations and that employees must report misconduct through lawful channels.
Flores is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 13 years in state prison.
The secret recording dispute became public after more than 120 audio files were submitted to LAPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and Office of Inspector General through what was intended to be an anonymous complaint, according to CBS. Investigators later identified Flores as the person who made the recordings.
Flores’ attorney, Alan Jackson, said his client did not leak, sell or publish the files. Jackson said Flores submitted them to his own department because he expected internal investigators to address the alleged bigotry, and he argued that prosecuting him could discourage officers from documenting misconduct. Flores has similarly filed a civil suit against the department over being charged for the recordings.
“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. The Department’s answer was to investigate him. The District Attorney’s answer is to prosecute him. We reject these charges completely, and we will not be quiet about them,” shared Jackson via statement.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell supported the filing of charges while saying employees who violate professional standards would also be held accountable. The department’s Internal Affairs Division is continuing its investigation.
The secret recording dispute presents two separate questions: whether Flores unlawfully recorded confidential conversations and whether LAPD employees made discriminatory remarks while helping screen job candidates. The LAPD officer recording case now moves toward arraignment while the department considers the alleged workplace conduct separately.