LAPD Officer Daniel Flores Charged with Felony Eavesdropping

Los Angeles Police Department officer Daniel Flores has been charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping for secretly recording colleagues in the department’s recruitment unit. The recordings, made between March and October 2024, captured racist, sexist and homophobic remarks directed at Black, Asian, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ individuals. Flores turned over roughly 90 recordings to internal affairs, saying he wanted the evidence used to discipline the officers responsible.

Prosecutors say the recordings violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits recording conversations without the consent of all parties. Flores’s attorney, Alan Jackson, argues the recordings were made in the scope of his duties to expose workplace misconduct. The district attorney emphasized that privacy protections apply regardless of the recorder’s motives. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, Mayor Karen Bass and the police union condemned the slurs but also expressed concern over the decision to prosecute the officer who reported them. An internal LAPD investigation found Flores guilty of policy violations and recommended a 22‑day suspension without pay. If convicted on all counts, Flores faces up to 13 years in prison.