Police officer who recorded colleagues' racism speaks out: LAPD response 'ruined my life'

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Set us as preferred Daniel Flores, the LAPD officer who set off a political firestorm when he reported some of his police colleagues for making racist, sexist and homophobic comments behind closed doors, broke his silence on Tuesday.Flores, whose only public comments had for months been filtered through his legal team, agreed to speak with The Times, detailing the toll that the prior year and a half had taken on him.“It’s definitely been a roller coaster of a struggle,” he said.“As you know, I didn’t see this coming or turning out like this.”Last month, L.A.

County Dist.Atty.

Nathan Hochman charged Flores with 16 felonies, alleging he violated a state eavesdropping law by secretly recording his fellow LAPD officers.The charges could have carried a sentence of 13 years in prison, but last week, after facing criticism from Mayor Karen Bass and others, Hochman downgraded the counts to misdemeanors with a diversion agreement that will probably allow Flores to avoid any time behind bars.

California L.A.County Dist.

Atty.Nathan Hochman said an LAPD officer who was charged with multiple felonies for secretly recording racist, sexist and homophobic remarks by his colleagues will instead face misdemeanor charges.Internal LAPD documents reviewed by The Times raise new questions about the timing of Flores’ prosecution.The files show that the department originally presented the case to prosecutors on July 1, 2025.

Ten days later, the district attorney’s office declined to bring charges.The case sat dormant for about a year, before Flores filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city in L.A.County Superior Court, alleging he faced retaliation for speaking out about misconduct.

Less than three weeks later, the district attorney’s office announced that it would move forward with the prosecution.Flores and his attorney...