DA reduces charges against LAPD whistleblower who recorded racist remarks

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on August 19, 2026, that he is reducing criminal charges against Los Angeles Police Department Officer Daniel Flores from felonies to misdemeanors. The decision comes amid intense backlash over the original prosecution of the officer who recorded colleagues making racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks. The move spares Flores, who faced a potential 13-year prison sentence, from the likelihood of jail time.

Flores, 43, had been charged with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping or recording confidential communications. The charges stemmed from over 100 recordings he made of officers within the LAPD's recruitment division last year. The recordings, which Flores submitted to the police inspector general in January 2025, captured officers making derogatory comments about race, gender, and sexual orientation. Court documents detailed jokes about a Latino baseball player dying from eating too many tacos, racist tropes about Black people enjoying watermelon and basketball, and an officer calling a young recruit "rapeable."

The felony charges drew swift and widespread criticism. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly stated she...