Overview
- Prosecutors filed 16 felony counts of eavesdropping against Officer Daniel Flores on Friday, July 31, 2026, and his arraignment is set for August 10 with a possible sentence of up to 13 years if he is convicted.
- Flores says he made roughly 90 recordings in 2024 while assigned to the department’s recruitment unit and turned them over to LAPD Internal Affairs after hearing what he describes as racist, sexist and homophobic remarks by supervisors and colleagues.
- California law requires all parties to consent to private recordings, but legal experts note disputed exceptions such as whether speakers had a reasonable expectation of privacy or whether an officer can record when acting within the scope of official duties.
- The case runs on three tracks: a pending criminal prosecution, an LAPD administrative probe that recommended a 22-day suspension for Flores that has not been finalized, and a civil hostile-workplace lawsuit Flores filed in June 2026.
- Prosecutors denounced the slurs captured on the tapes while saying illegal recordings will be prosecuted, and the outcome could shape how police departments handle internal complaints, recruit candidates, and protect whistleblowers.