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Criminal

Aug. 21, 2026

Legal experts split on D.A.'s retreat from felony charges against LAPD officer

Nathan Hochman says reducing 16 felony eavesdropping charges against an LAPD officer protects legitimate whistleblowers, drawing praise from Erwin Chemerinsky and skepticism from an employment attorney who questioned whether public pressure drove the reversal.

Legal experts offered sharply different assessments Thursday of Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's decision to reduce 16 felony eavesdropping charges against an LAPD officer, with one calling the move necessary to protect whistleblowers and another questioning whether prosecutors bowed to political pressure.

UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said reducing the charges against Officer Daniel Flores to misdemeanors was "a necessary action,&q...

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