Daniel Flores charged with 16 felony counts; faces up to 13 years in prison

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles police officer was charged today with illegally recording portions of conversations of fellow officers while he was assigned to a unit that conducted background investigations for candidates seeking employment with the department.

“This case serves as a warning to anyone seeking to record a conversation without the other person’s permission that doing so is illegal and has been a crime in the state of California for over 50 years,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “It doesn’t matter where you work or who you are – a neighbor, a coworker or, in this case, a police officer. Your right to privacy in a confidential conversation is protected, no matter who is doing the recording or, with few exceptions, why they are doing the recording. For those illegal eavesdroppers, please know that my office will prosecute them for their actions surreptitiously recording others.”

Daniel Flores (dob 9/24/82) was charged with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping on or recording confidential communications. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 10 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

During the course of 2024, Flores allegedly recorded colleagues who were responsible for determining which candidates could be hired by LAPD. Flores is accused of taking the action without the permission of those who were recorded. Some of the conversations allegedly included sexist, homophobic and racist remarks.

District Attorney Hochman stated: “We deplore the sexist, homophobic and racist remarks made by certain LAPD employees, and they should be held accountable for such statements. However, in our all-party consent state, where California has been one of the nation’s leaders in protecting privacy and deterring illegal eavesdropping for over a half a century, one cannot simply choose to break the law because one wants to pursue a personal agenda. The options are not break the law or do nothing. One can address important issues by going through the proper legal channels. If one chooses a law-breaking path instead, then the consequences will be straightforward and significant.”

If convicted as charged, Flores faces up to 13 years in state prison.

The case is being prosecuted by the Justice System Integrity Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division.

To review District Attorney Hochman’s comments, click on the link: https://youtube.com/shorts/Jd_Pc-bmYW8

The charges filed in this case are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.