Los Angeles County DA reduces felony charges against LAPD officer who illegally recorded his coworkers' conversations
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced it is reducing the felony charges against a Los Angeles Police Department officer who is accused of illegally recording his coworkers allegedly saying sexist, homophobic and racist remarks.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office will be reducing the 16 felonies that Daniel Flores is facing to misdemeanor charges.
Flores, 43, had previously pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts of eavesdropping on or recording confidential communications. Prosecutors allege Flores secretly recorded his coworkers 122 times while working at LAPD's Recruitment and Employment Division in 2024.
Hochman said during the case his office heard from various entities that "this type of prosecution, because we used felony charges that could result in state prison, would actually chill legitimate whistleblowers who were potentially thinking of coming forward because they would be worried about being criminally prosecuted by the district attorney's office."
CBS LA has reached out to Flores' attorney, Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell for a comment and is waiting for a response.
Hochman said that Flores is still being charged with illegally getting the recordings in California, which is an all-party consent state. He has previously accused Flores of being personally motivated.
"[The] defendant's motive to make the recordings was less altruistic and more personally motivated to avoid being transferred to patrol and to reap a financial windfall from suing the City of Los Angeles," Hochman said. "Daniel Flores made these recordings in a confidential setting. He did that without the consent of all the individuals he was recording, and he didn't just do it once or twice; he did it 122 different times over approximately a nine-month period."
Flores said he submitted complaints about his coworkers' comments and more than 120 recordings to LAPD's Internal Affairs Division and the LA Police Commission in January 2025.
Hochman said he has been communicating with the defense, who will likely ask the court to grant judicial diversion.
"It's been described as effectively being on probation, although you don't have to check in with a probation officer for a year," Hochman said. "You have to obey all the laws and if you don't obey the laws, you'll be brought back into court; the court will most likely terminate the diversion, then the case goes on."
He added that it's an incentive for a defendant because after a year, the court can decide to dismiss the case.
"This is the live and learn, because we thought we had made it crystal clear what we were in deterring, which is illegal conduct, and what we're incentivizing," Hochman said. "That line got blurred, so now we have to go back and make sure it's absolutely crystal clear what is happening in this case."
