LAPD officer who recorded colleagues' racist, homophobic comments may face criminal case

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Set us as preferred After Daniel Flores secretly recorded his LAPD colleagues making racist, sexist and homophobic comments on the job, he turned the evidence over to his superiors, according to an Internal Affairs complaint he filed with the department last year, which said he hoped the evidence would be used against those responsible.But now, his lawyer says, the recordings may be used in a criminal case against Flores.The attorney, Greg Smith, told The Times that Los Angeles prosecutors are weighing charges against his client for allegedly violating a state law that prohibits recording conversations without the consent of those involved.Violations of the law, known California Invasion of Privacy Act, can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Smith said Flores recently received notification that his Internal Affairs case had been turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for possible charges.A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office confirmed prosecutors are reviewing the LAPD’s criminal investigation for potential illegal eavesdropping charges.

A separate administrative investigation of Flores by the LAPD found him guilty of policy violations and recommended a 20-day suspension without pay, his attorney said.According to Smith, Flores’ defense is that, as a police officer, he had the authority to make surreptitious recordings as part of an investigation.The conversations were taped between March and October 2024 in the city’s personnel building, near police headquarters, according to Flores’ LAPD Internal Affairs complaint, which detailed roughly 90 recordings of slurs and offensive remarks made by officers tasked with deciding who could join the police force.

Smith said it wasn’t clear whether any of the accused officers have been punished, but it seemed that the departm...