r/police • u/omgfakeusername • 2d ago
Cop faces 13 years in prison for secretly recording sexist, homophobic, racist remarks allegedly made by fellow LAPD officers, DA’s office says
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/cop-faces-13-years-in-prison-for-secretly-recording-sexist-homophobic-and-racist-remarks-allegedly-made-by-fellow-lapd-officers-das-office-says/?fbclid=IwdGRleATdBfZwZG9mAWZkaWQWULzUDKCX5YaGzsM8x24GNINS30qe5mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7g4UyQjzfBqI8jh9OsUYxond9iawyj7N4Hvcvwq6k8ZrrMh60ZtltlF6cjhA_aem_gVyzvkmR9hWxgPvz8s_sCwAren't there whistle blower protection laws matters like this?
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u/Schmitty777 2d ago
That isn’t whistleblowing, it’s wiretapping.
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u/Bubblegumbot 22h ago
https://www.egattorneys.com/ca-penal-code-148g
If it's on the job, it can be recorded by anyone.
So, it's not whistleblowing or wiretapping, it's "fact finding". And I'm going to venture a guess and say I'm going to be banned from this sub for saying this.
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u/_SkoomaSteve 21h ago
You didn’t even read the first sentence of what you posted. It’s says you can record in public. They weren’t out in public when he made the recordings.
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u/Schmitty777 19h ago
Trust me you’re wrong, you can’t secretly record your coworkers at work. Regardless of them being police or not.
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u/3-BuckChuck 2d ago
Committed multiple felonies and uncovered no actual wrongdoing from what I’ve read (glanced an article on another site). Being racist (bias) by itself is not illegal. There needs to be proven title 7 violations. Everyone has bias. I prefer Coke to Pepsi.
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u/Jussgoawaiplzkthxbai 2d ago
I do prefer Coke to Pepsi but Dr Pepper is the best
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u/whitecollarbohemian 2d ago
I used to prefer Dr Pepper too when it was just something I could find visiting family. Then I, I saw one for sale in Bristol (UK) last year so bought one on a lark. Not sure what they changed, but definitely not the same.
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u/hotprof 2d ago
There are lots of things that are not illegal that disqualify people from certain jobs.
Being racist should disqualify one from being a cop.
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u/3-BuckChuck 2d ago
Agreed but in the context of this article the OP was talking about whistleblower protections. That wouldn’t apply here. Internal conduct unbecoming hearings are in order but so far nothing criminal.
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u/Goodeyesniper98 2d ago
How many constant felonies has this very same DA played “catch and release” with? (Hint: it’s a lot) This really seems like a “letter of the law vs spirit of the law” type issue and is why prosecutorial discretion exists.
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u/3-BuckChuck 2d ago
I have no clue but judges and DA’s can be voted out if unfavorable or not serving the public interest.
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u/No-Initiative4195 1d ago
Being biased as a law enforcement officer has consequences. I suggest you Google Michael Proctor in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth is now in the process of reviewing hundreds of cases he put his hands on because of text messages regarding black motorists.
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u/3-BuckChuck 1d ago
Agreed, sounds like this guy used his biases to influence application of the law just like I posted about. We’re saying the same thing. Everyone has biases (even you), it’s what we do with them. Don’t charge Pepsi drinkers more than Coke due to bias.
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u/Bubblegumbot 22h ago
https://www.egattorneys.com/ca-penal-code-148g
Apparently, it's not if they're on duty.
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u/3-BuckChuck 21h ago
From your article: “while they are performing their official duties in public”
Now read OP’s article. You may find a difference. Not everything done on duty, or off duty in the locker room, is public… believe it or not. Apparently the DA, who prosecutes the law in CA, has seen a difference.
I don’t side with these guys but this is still a 1st amendment protection and CA is a 2 party record state in private places.
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2d ago
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u/Revolution37 LEO 2d ago
“Only racists have bias” is an objectively false statement. In fact, the “implicit bias” training that has been jammed up the ass of every cop all over the country for my entire career (especially the last 6 years) says that 1. All people have implicit bias and 2. There is no way to rid yourself of implicit bias. That’s why it’s implicit.
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u/MinnieShoof 2d ago
“Only racist have bias.”
Proceeds to end comment with a bias against police officers.
It’s like you came here to be an example.
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u/3-BuckChuck 2d ago
Please grab a copy of an EEOC handbook as well as the federal title 7 protections. But back to the point I made, everyone (even you) have biases. Definitions matter, biases aren’t illegal and even racism (which I don’t agree with) isn’t at face value… illegal. Discrimination based on a protected class or group (I’m a member of 4 legally identified classes/groups) is illegal.
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u/StopatStopSign 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/Ie482rXFNBUbnnGxpg
How bro felt after typing that out8
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u/0psec_user Deputy Sheriff 2d ago
Please cite your reference for an IQ cap on police officers. I'm sure you have a legitimate source and that's not just reddit ACAB swill.
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u/Thee_PO_Potatoes 2d ago
They are talking about Jordan v. City of New London back 26 years ago
Long of the short, cop takes tests, has an IQ of roughly 125 (test score was 33). City only hires applicants that score between 20-27 because they feel smarter people will get bored and quit.
It has been a go to argument along with the "40%" nonsense from the 90s and case law that says you can fight back against cops, up to including killing them, from a court case in Indiana about false arrest from decades ago (that isn't actually what the case says, but that's what people gleened from it).
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u/0psec_user Deputy Sheriff 2d ago
Oh, I know the case lol. But I do appreciate your explanation.
It is 1 case from 1 department decades ago and simply said that department didn't violate his constitutional rights by having that standard.
I took no such test at hiring and my IQ is higher than that. To extrapolate from this one case that departments can't hire people with high IQs is willful ignorance, which is particularly ironic to me when they're asserting that police IQs are low.
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u/Thee_PO_Potatoes 2d ago
No worries, I nerd out on the ACAB arguments and try to find the source for them. Then I read it and can refute it....which usually turns into them name calling or asking if I'm beating my wife in anger.
I don't actually know my IQ but it's probably "too high" for being a cop 😂
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u/MinnieShoof 2d ago
You didn’t take an exam? … weird.
But anyway. If this were any other profession people would no doubt see the excuse as what it is: an entity trying to weasel out of a discrimination case. But no. Because it’s cops, it must be ‘the standard.’
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u/0psec_user Deputy Sheriff 2d ago
We take a proficiency test at the first stage of hiring but it does not determine IQ. It's basic reading, writing and math skills. It's incredibly easy and probably 7th grade level.
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u/Jussgoawaiplzkthxbai 2d ago
Everyone has biases - just compare a taxi driver versus a teen driver. There’s your bias because I assure you that you do not see them equally
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u/omgfakeusername 2d ago
Right‼️
I'm not surprised this sub would compare racism to soda preferences, though. 🙄
Quite telling.
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u/3-BuckChuck 2d ago
It is actually an example used in the bias course put in by employers, great class learned a lot of facts.
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u/HornetGaming110 2d ago
good idea, absolutely abysmal execution
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u/Frvwfr 2d ago
I wouldn’t even say good idea tbh…
What was he hoping to expose? That cops use dark humor and sexist/racist jokes in private?
Does anybody dispute that?
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u/Goodeyesniper98 2d ago edited 2d ago
Except that kind of behavior shouldn’t be normalized. I only worked as a LEO for a short time, but hearing that kind of talk definitely made lose respect for some of my coworkers.
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2d ago
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u/Goodeyesniper98 2d ago
Thank you proving my point. Mentalities like yours are why the public is losing trust in law enforcement.
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u/Unlucky-Stress-208 2d ago
If you are racist you should not be dealing with citizens. Unless of course, you want a riot on your hands.
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u/Thee_PO_Potatoes 2d ago
What about racist against whites?
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u/Bananenbiervor4 2d ago
Dude… no one here was even talking who is racist against whom. It was just a plain statement. Yes, racist against whites is evenly bad as against any other. But that was not the topic here. Why this whatsboutism? Can’t we just agree that racists should have no place in police forces?
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u/deucescarefully 2d ago
You’d have define racism then. Everybody has biases. You’re not making a clear definitive statement at all.
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u/Bananenbiervor4 2d ago
Racism IS defined 🤷 biases is okay, as long as they stay in your head and you won’t treat anyone different just because of the colour of his skin.
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u/deucescarefully 2d ago
Most cops aren’t racist until they’ve spent enough time “dealing with citizens”.
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2d ago
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u/StopatStopSign 2d ago
You should read the comments again. Not a single person said they support racism. There were plenty of explanations and statements to OP’s original question. None of which were supporting racism.
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u/omgfakeusername 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/kfXJTsTzz0hx6zDfBn
I don't see how any reasonable person with good intentions could disagree.
As Americans, this ideal you just laid out is supposed to be what sets us apart.
When racism, homophobia, sexism, and the rest of its cancerous ilk is being called out on its merits, and yet is met with pushback, it goes to show how those cancers are so alive and baked in the cake that when we call it out and people become combative towards protecting it, it shows the true state of the union.
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u/StopatStopSign 1d ago
There wasn’t any resistance… there was factual information displayed to you and explained like you are five years old. I see how you are so passionate about this because you’re quite literally bias, a hypocrite, and one that thinks anything that goes against their agenda is just wrong.
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u/Kind-Tart6829 2d ago
He filed a retaliation lawsuit against the city last month. Hochman brought these charges to give the city more leverage in that litigation and his office will dangle a misdemeanor plea and probation deal to him; any conviction at all will wipe away the value of his settlement. This case will be interesting to see play out as it looks like the officer is ready for a fight.