LAPD officer faces felony eavesdropping charge for secretly recording peers

Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is set to file a felony eavesdropping charge against LAPD officer Daniel Flores, accusing him of breaching the California Invasion of Privacy Act by secretly taping colleagues who used racist, sexist and anti-gay slurs. Flores submitted about 90 audio files to internal affairs last year, aiming to trigger disciplinary action against members of the recruitment unit who were heard making the remarks.

The DA’s office plans to release a statement on the charges, while Flores’s attorney, Alan Jackson, contends the prosecution punishes the whistle-blower rather than the officers who uttered the slurs. An internal LAPD review already found Flores violated department policy and suggested a 22-day unpaid suspension, though final discipline is pending. The recordings, revealed by one outlet, prompted condemnation from LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, Mayor Karen Bass and the police union. Legal experts note the privacy law applies only when speakers have a reasonable expectation of privacy, a point Flores’s counsel will likely raise in defense.