Nathan Hochman’s prosecution of LAPD Officer Daniel Flores is evidence of Hochman’s integrity, not evidence that he has turned against police, because a pro-law-enforcement district attorney ought to enforce the law even when the defendant is a police officer.
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Election 2020 was a disaster, not just because Trump lost the election (unfairly, I might add). In Los Angeles County, where I live, I witnessed George Gascón, the flagrantly pro-“criminal justice reform” former District Attorney of San Francisco, carpetbag down from the Bay Area and become the District Attorney for Los Angeles County. LA County lost any semblance of law and order for four years.
Eventually, everyone woke up, in a good way, about Gascón, but after two failed recall efforts, LA County voters would have to wait for the next election.
And in came Nathan Hochman. In 2022, he ran for state Attorney General as a liberal Republican. He earned enough votes to get just above 40%, decent for a Republican in a deep-blue state. After some political maneuvering (switching to “Independent” and backing away from Trump), Hochman won, and things have never been better in Los Angeles County (at least compared to the last four to eight years. Remember that even Jackie Lacey was kind of a flop.)
DA Hochman is doing the right things. He has rolled back the pro-criminal policies of his corrupt progressive predecessor. He even hosted a town hall in Torrance, CA, urging the governor and the state legislature to provide more funding so that the county could fully implement the people-backed, real criminal justice reform in Prop 36.
I respect all this. For the first time in years as an LA County resident, I voted for someone who won in a county race, and he has exceeded expectations. He may publish some disagreements with the Trump administration, and he does attend a few liberal events here and there, but I don’t care: He’s getting the job done. He even restored the death penalty as an option after Gascón had refused to seek it.
With this immense and hopeful background, I want to drill into a recent controversy swamping Hochman’s office.
The SoCal News Group (which also provides news coverage for my South Bay home) reported: “D.A. facing criticism over charges against LAPD officer who secretly recorded colleagues’ derogatory remarks.”
Here’s a decent summary from the report:
Following the filing of felony charges against a Los Angeles police officer for recording his co-workers’ derogatory remarks, District Attorney Nathan Hochman is facing criticism from Mayor Karen Bass about that decision.
Officer Daniel Flores, 43, faces 16 felony counts of eavesdropping after the recordings were deemed by the District Attorney’s Office to have been obtained illegally. In those recordings, fellow officers in the LAPD’s Training Division were heard using slurs and making derogatory remarks about Mexican, Asian, and Black people, as well as women. The recordings were made in 2024.
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“If convicted, Flores could face up to 13 years in state prison.
Hochman is charging a police officer for recording his colleagues without their permission. What’s the big deal? Unlike most states, California requires the consent of all parties before any recordings can take place in private. Granted, I think it’s unfair to prevent citizens or employees from recording their colleagues or elected officials in one-on-one conversations. Why would we not want to expose our leaders or other government actors when they do something wrong? Mayor Bass—who should be focusing on her burned-out, hollowed-out shell of a city—claims that Flores deserves whistleblower protection.
It’s not a crime to say mean things about people. There’s no justification for such an argument.
The law is the law, and a police officer cannot undermine the integrity and trust of his station, unit, or partners.
Hochman is facing backlash from pro-police forces, too. After all, part of Hochman’s restorative success included reversing the anti-police agenda of the previous administration. Gascón had pledged to prosecute rogue cops, and he even reopened a case against two Torrance police officers after they justifiably fired on a suspect who had what appeared to be a firearm in his lap. To his credit, Hochman has dropped the charges and moved to dismiss the case against those police officers.
Hochman is not anti-cop. He wants to support law enforcement across the country. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna joined him at the Torrance town hall last year, in part as a show of solidarity and cooperation.
All of this and more should show us that Hochman is doing the right thing, and this action only enhances his integrity. No one is above the law, and when a rogue cop records other cops to implicate them in something, that lowers morale in the worst way.
Cops NEED to be able to discuss confidential matters without the risk that someone will release the information. Sure, police officers say nasty things in private (who hasn’t?). Yes, they hold a position in society in which they should be above reproach. But should we allow law enforcement abolitionists to exploit these private moral failings and allow a rogue officer to get away with betraying the trust of his department and violating state law?
No way. Hochman is showing his true colors and character by taking on this case. I think he should work out a proper plea deal, but Officer Flores needs to face hard time for what he did.
That said, we do need to amend the consent-to-record laws in the state of California as well. Hochman has remarked that the unprofessionalism of the specific police officers is a problem. I hope he takes the opportunity to call on the state legislature to amend those laws.
Image created using AI.