Charged in 11-count felony case Anti-police The misconduct by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s top ethics official stemmed from the drunken arrest of one of his most trusted confidants, who recorded himself clashing with officers and obstructing their investigation, according to court documents.
California Attorney General Robert Bonta announced the charges against Diana Teran in April.
The case against him grew out of an investigation sparked by the December 2021 arrest of Joseph Iniguez, who was then Gascón’s chief of staff and has since been promoted to chief deputy district attorney, according to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
Diana Teran, the former head of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s ethics and integrity unit, is seen in a booking photo in April in which she was arrested on 11 felony charges of allegedly taking and/or misusing sheriff’s deputies’ data without permission. (Los Angeles County)
Azusa police jailed Iniguez in December 2021 after stopping his then-fiancée for alleged traffic violations and suspicion of driving under the influence. Earlier this week, Fox News Digital obtained video of the arrest — which showed him telling officers, “You stopped the wrong person, let me tell you.”
According to the police report on the incident, Iniguez threatened to put the arresting officer on the “Brady list,” though that conversation is not heard on the video.
This list is a database of officials who have been accused of wrongdoing and can be used by defense lawyers to discredit them in court.
Reading Affidavit
In a clip recorded on his cellphone, Iñiguez urged authorities to check his license plate, which could tell them who he worked for. Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He admitted to drinking at the wedding and repeatedly interrupted the officer who tried to question the driver. Also during the encounter, he urged his fiancée not to talk to officers, a potential violation of DA policy and state law.
Iniguez had sued Azusa over his arrest, alleging federal civil rights violations, and last year he received $10,000 in compensation that critics described as a “nuisance pay.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón meets with the media at Grand Park in Los Angeles on March 5, 2024. (Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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On Tuesday, the Azusa Police Department said in a statement that its officers fully complied with state law and internal policies.
“The City of Azusa and Chief (Rocky) Wenrich stand firmly behind our staff and the decisions they made during (Iniguez’s) arrest,” the department said.
But while looking into Iniguez’s alleged Brady threat, investigators say they found evidence against Teran.
A police officer in Asuza, California, leads George Gascon’s right-hand man, Joseph Iniguez, to a cell after he was stopped for public intoxication in 2021. (Asuza Police Department)
“The investigation began when a LADA official overseeing the database threatened to put a police officer into LADA’s Brady database after the officer arrested him for impeding a traffic stop investigation of his fiancée in December 2021,” the affidavit reads. “Our investigation of that officer also revealed the conduct of Diana Maria Teran, a LADA special consultant with creative responsibility for the Brady and ORWITS databases at LADA.”
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According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Brady material includes criminal convictions, false statements, and administrative investigations involving dishonesty or “serious misconduct” against law enforcement officers. The Officer and Recurring Witness Information Tracking System (ORWITS) is a similar but separate database with less scrutiny.
Joseph Iniguez sits with his boss, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, at the Reform LA Jails Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Matters on November 9, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)
Prior to joining Gascón’s office, Teran worked in the sheriff’s department as an inspector and had access to more than 1,600 confidential files on members of law enforcement, as well as documents related to internal affairs investigations.
She left the sheriff’s department in 2018, but after joining Gascón’s office in 2021, allegedly continued to use material from the files she is now accused of Illegal taking and access.
“Teran repeatedly used data from LASD personnel files and internal emails and documents to add the names of peace officers to LADA’s Brady and ORWITS databases.”
Teran’s defense attorney has said he believes she will survive state charges.
Iñiguez has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the case against Teran.
A still image taken from jailhouse surveillance video shows Los Angeles Chief Deputy District Attorney Joseph Iniguez making a phone call from lockup after his arrest for public intoxication in 2021. (Asuza Police Department)
“No one is above the law,” Bonta, a Democrat, said in a press release announcing the charges against Teran. “Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with loyalty and integrity. California “We will continue to fight for the people of California and hold accountable those who break the law,” the Justice Department said.
Gascón previously defended his Brady policy and said he would cooperate with state investigators.
“When I took over, we developed a protocol that ensured we would be in compliance with our rules.” Constitutional obligations under Brady, which requires us to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defendant, a category that includes past law enforcement misconduct, while also complying with state and federal law regarding confidentiality,” he said. “I support that protocol.”
His office deferred questions about the Iñiguez incident to his personal attorney.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is running for re-election amid strong criticism and crime concerns. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
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Iñiguez’s fiancée, who was driving the car before it was stopped, was handcuffed but not charged, and authorities later dropped the public drunkenness charge against Iñiguez.
He also came under fire in recent weeks when the district attorney’s office said it would remove the two lead prosecutors in a child murder trial before sentencing because of a conflict of interest involving Teran. They later stepped aside and remained on the case after it was reassigned to a unit Teran had no connection to.
