LOS ANGELES — The attorney representing an LAPD officer facing 16 felony charges for secretly recording colleagues accused of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks is accusing Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman of trying the case in the media and publicly disparaging his client before the evidence has been tested in court.
Officer Daniel Flores, 43, pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts of eavesdropping or recording confidential communications stemming from recordings prosecutors say he made while assigned to the LAPD's Recruitment and Employment Division.
The case has become a flashpoint over police accountability and whistleblowing, drawing criticism from Mayor Karen Bass and civil rights advocates who say prosecuting Flores could discourage officers from exposing misconduct.
Hochman, however, said Flores' status as a police officer was among the factors that weighed in favor of felony prosecution, arguing that officers entrusted with enforcing the law have a greater responsibility to obey it.
Prosecutors allege Flores made 122 recordings involving 16 people over several months in 2024. Hochman described the conduct as deliberate and repeated rather than an isolated lapse and said his office exercised prosecutorial discretion by filing one felony count for each person allegedly recorded rather than potentially pursuing charges for every recording.
Hochman also rejected the argument that the prosecution threatens legitimate whistleblowers. He...
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