Officer Who Taped Colleagues No Longer Faces Felonies

UPDATE Aug 19, 2026 3:20 PM CDT

The Los Angeles County district attorney has backed off felony charges against a police officer who secretly recorded his colleagues making racist remarks in the face of criticism that prosecutors' response was too harsh and could deter whistleblowers from coming forward. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Wednesday that he still believes Los Angeles Police officer Daniel Flores broke the law but that all 16 charges are being downgraded to misdemeanors, the AP reports. Hochman said the prosecution was affecting potential whistleblowers. Flores' lawyer had predicted as much, saying the message would be: "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."

Aug 1, 2026 1:53 PM CDT

A Los Angeles police officer who secretly taped his co-workers using slurs is now the one facing charges. Los Angeles County prosecutors on Friday charged Daniel Flores with 16 counts of felony eavesdropping for recording colleagues making racist, sexist, and anti-gay remarks—recordings he later turned over to internal affairs in hopes they'd trigger discipline. Each count stems from conversations captured between March and October 2024 inside the department's recruitment unit, which helps decide who gets to join the force, the Los Angeles Times reports.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the comments on the tapes were "deplorable" but argued Flores still violated California's strict all-party consent wiretap law, which can carry up to 13 years in prison. Flores' attorney called the move an attempt to criminalize reporting racism inside the LAPD, noting that none of the officers reportedly heard using derogatory terms in referring to Black people and women have publicly faced charges. The department has faced criticism since the Times reported on the recordings last year, per USA Today. Mayor Karen Bass called the officers' comments "outrageous and unacceptable" in a statement to KTLA.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement that he supports the "legal process now underway." Legal experts contend the case could hinge on whether those officers reasonably expected privacy and whether Flores was acting within his authority as an officer. Flores plans to plead not guilty and has sued the city, accusing it of retaliation; the LAPD has recommended a 22-day unpaid suspension.