LAPD officer could face criminal charges for recording colleagues’ discrimination
Los Angeles Police Department officers. (Getty)
A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer could face criminal charges for recording his colleagues making homophobic, racist and sexist remarks while on the job.
Daniel Flores, who is an officer for the LAPD, secretly recorded the comments before handing the audio over to his superiors as evidence, according to an internal affairs complaint he filed last year.
However, recording conversations without the consent of those involved is illegal in the state of California.
Flores’ attorney, Greg Smith, told The LA Times that Flores was recently informed that his internal affairs case had been transferred to state prosecutors, who are currently weighing charges against him for allegedly violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act.
Violations of the act can be prosecuted as a misdemeanour or as a felony.
The evidence Flores gathered against his colleagues was recorded between March and October 2024 in LA personnel buildings near LAPD headquarters.
His internal affairs complaint included around 90 recordings of officers, who were tasked with deciding who could join the police force, saying slurs and making other offensive remarks.
According to Smith, Flores’ defence is that he had the authority to make surreptitious recordings as part of an investigation because he is a police officer.
The LA Times reported that a separate administrative investigation of Flores by the LAPD found him guilty of policy violations and recommended that he be suspended without pay for 90 days.
The lawsuit details that Flores “was subjected to numerous statements he considered to be derogatory towards himself and others based on race, national origin, sex/gender, and sexual orientation.”
