Secret recordings allegedly reveal LAPD officers making racist comments

A Los Angeles Police Department officer secretly recorded approximately 90 conversations over several months revealing colleagues in the department's recruitment division making racist, sexist, and homophobic comments about police applicants and fellow officers, according to a complaint filed with the LAPD's Professional Standards Bureau and the inspector general's office.

The recordings – made between March and October 2024 – document officers and supervisors engaging in discriminatory conversations about potential recruits and colleagues based on race, sex, and sexual orientation. These same officers were responsible for determining who could join the LAPD.

In one recorded conversation detailed in the complaint, a Latina LAPD officer advised colleagues on fighting African Americans, stating, "You hit black people in the liver; I heard they got weak livers." The same officer reportedly referred to a Latina janitor as a "wetback" after the janitor complained about her.

After learning of the allegations, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell removed a lieutenant, a sergeant, and four officers from the unit. "I am deeply disappointed by reports that certain officers were recorded making racist and offensive comments regarding department applicants," he said in a statement addressing the issue.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass told the L.A. Times the allegations were "especially outrageous and unacceptable." Details of the complaint were shared with the mayor last month, but the specific language used by the officers has only now been reported.

Department officials have prioritized their investigation, assigning three investigators, a lieutenant, and a captain to the case. Investigators have begun examining the recordings and interviewing officers from the unit. The city's personnel department is conducting a parallel investigation to determine how these actions might have impacted the police department's recruitment efforts.

According to the complaint, LAPD Sergeant Denny Jong, who is Asian, allegedly led much of the prejudicial banter. In one conversation with subordinates about Dodgers baseball legend Fernando Valenzuela's death from septic shock, Jong reportedly said, "I know why he died, he ate too much Tacos."

The complaint alleges Lt. Louis Lavender, who oversaw the section, "witnessed and heard these conversations going on... [He] has done nothing." When Lavender, who is Black, entered the office in November, an officer told him, "you're just in time for the naked mud wrestling." Lavender reportedly replied, "Man, we are going to end up in the L.A. Times the way you all talk in here. You all can bring down the whole department."

The officers reportedly used derogatory terms to refer to colleagues who they believed to be queer and in unrecorded conversations, allegedly referred to Black people as monkeys, according to the complaint.

Officer Shirley Burgos, identified in the complaint as a Latina officer, allegedly called a female supervisor the c-word. The complaint also alleges Burgos evaluated officer candidates based on their appearance, rejecting those she deemed "ugly, creepy" and made fun of overweight candidates.

In another conversation, after Burgos allegedly commented about "Black people drinking Kool Aid but they go by color not flavor," Officer Christian Flores, who is Latino, reportedly said, "black people enjoy watermelon in between basketball." Flores allegedly bragged about living in Simi Valley and calling police on some Black kids selling chocolate.

The complaint also accuses Burgos of improperly sharing disqualified candidates' information with other police agencies, which is prohibited. "I shouldn’t be doing this. But you scratch my back; I’ll scratch your[s]," she allegedly stated, according to the complaint.

An officer identified only as McKay, who sources described as Black, allegedly made racist comments about Black people and reportedly stated, "The only race I can’t hit on is Hispanics." McKay is also accused of calling Black people monkeys and making disparaging comments during news programs showing Black people accused of crimes.

The whistleblower, a Latino officer with 10 years of service with the department, initially filed the complaint anonymously but has since turned over dozens of hours of recordings. The officer's name was redacted in the copy of the complaint reviewed by the L.A. Times.

"The officer is cooperating and we are in contact with the inspector general because of concerns about retaliation and personal safety," said Greg Smith, the officer's attorney. The whistleblowing officer has also alleged time cards were falsified to show more hours than actually worked, confidential information was improperly disclosed to other agencies, and racial and sexual biases influenced officer selection.

One department source described the alleged remarks as "worse than what Nury Martinez and the council members said," referring to a previous City Hall scandal in which city and labor leaders were secretly recorded making offensive comments about Black people, Indigenous Oaxacans, and others.

LAPD officials said they would investigate whether the recordings were made illegally. Recording conversations without consent is generally prohibited under California law, with few exceptions.

Smith defended his client's actions, stating, "The officer that recorded and reported repeated offensive racial epithets and slurs concerning female officers and their sexual orientation, by those who are recruiting officers to serve the City of Los Angeles, should be celebrated as a hero." He added LAPD officers cannot "realistically claim an expectation of privacy from these types of recordings while uniformed in a public building ridiculing the very people they took an oath to serve."

The L.A. Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file officers, distanced itself from the accused officers. "Any roadblock to growing the ranks of the LAPD must be eradicated and that includes any alleged conduct that does not uphold the high standards we, as police officers, are held to. Accountability is a cornerstone of any healthy organization and we believe it is being applied to this particular incident," the union stated.

The whistleblower expressed fear for his future at the department after exposing the comments. "I have been very scared and unsure to even submit this letter because Sgt. Jong has eyes and ears everywhere. And most likely will be warned about this letter. But I feel that I need to take a stand and say something," the officer wrote to internal affairs. "Officers and candidates are being cheated and it needs to stop."

This is not the first time allegations of discrimination have emerged from the unit. In a separate case, a Black officer named William Faulkner filed a lawsuit against the city alleging racial discrimination in the office. His lawsuit, which is proceeding toward trial, claims a supervising sergeant frequently made derogatory statements about Black applicants and rejected Black candidates at disproportionately higher rates. Faulkner alleges after reporting the misconduct to superiors who ignored him, he faced retaliation in the form of a suspension.

The department has made progress in diversifying its ranks since the early 1990s. While the LAPD was 59% white in 1992, it now more closely reflects the city's demographics. Nearly half of the LAPD's approximately 8,700 sworn officers are Latino, with Black and Asian officers comprising 10% and 9% of the force, respectively.

The LAPD has a complicated history regarding officer conduct and racial issues, dating back to the 1991 Rodney King beating by LAPD officers and the riots that followed their acquittals. More recently, a SWAT officer was suspended for two days after being recorded saying "happy hunting" as colleagues prepared to confront an armed suspect.

The department's investigation into the recordings is ongoing. Officials are working to determine the full extent of the alleged misconduct and its potential impact on recruitment practices.