A Los Angeles police officer accused of illegally recording colleagues making racist, sexist and homophobic comments will not face felony charges, prosecutors said Wednesday, backing off a controversial case that critics said would have a chilling effect on other whistleblowers.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office would downgrade the charges against the officer, Daniel Flores, to misdemeanors, removing the possibility of a state prison sentence and paving the way for the case to be dismissed.
Hochman’s announcement is a striking reversal in a case that captured national attention and drew backlash from other community leaders, including the Los Angeles mayor. For weeks, the prosecutor said Flores should face consequences for violating California’s ban on illegal recordings of private conversations — even as he condemned the offensive comments Flores captured.
At a Wednesday news conference, Hochman said he decided to drop the felony charges after listening to concerns that the charges would send the wrong message.
“My father used to say you are born with two ears and one mouth, which means that you have to listen twice as much as you actually speak, and that’s what we did,” Hochman told reporters.
“We looked at it, and we said that the 16 felonies, again, have sent a message that potentially could deter legitimate whistleblowers,” he said.
Flores alleged in a lawsuit that fellow officers referred to Black people as monkeys, said they “enjoy watermelon between basketball,” suggested a Mexican baseball pitcher who died ate too many tacos, and made derogatory comments about women and queer people.
Hochman emphasized that the officers involved are facing disciplinary action in the police department and called the alleged remarks “completely unacceptable.” But he said their speech is not a crime and defended his decision to bring a case against Flores this summer.
Less than two weeks ago, Hochman had redoubled his condemnations of Flores in a court brief and news release, questioning the officer’s motives and saying he was trying to hit the “LAPD lottery” with lawsuit damages. He alleged that Flores “manipulated” conversations by initiating them and “then ceasing his own participation once the recording began.”
But the felony charges drew a backlash, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who said the charges “send the wrong message that calling out egregious behavior could land you in prison.”
Hochman said Wednesday that Flores’s defense will have a chance to ask the judge for “judicial diversion,” which would effectively put the case on hold for a year. If the defendant obeys the law while the case is on hold, Hochman added, the court could eventually dismiss the case.
“That is what we anticipate will end up happening,” Hochman said.
An attorney for Flores did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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