California’s attorney general filed criminal charges on Wednesday against a man in the L.A. County District of Columbia. Atty. George Gascón’s top prosecutor, overseeing high-profile and sensitive cases including police misconduct, fraud, and public corruption.
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced 11 felony charges against the officer, Asst. District. Atty. Diana Teran, in a press statement, accused Teran of improperly downloading confidential records of police officers in 2018 while she was working for the LA County Sheriff’s Department. Bonta said Terán “unwittingly used that data” after joining Gascón’s office three years later.
According to a criminal complaint filed in LA Superior Court, the confidential records belong to 11 sheriff’s deputies. The representatives’ names were not included in the court filing.
The announcement of criminal charges against one of Gascón’s top advisers – particularly those so closely tied to his agenda of law enforcement accountability and criminal justice reform – sent shock waves throughout the state’s legal community and prompted active and far-reaching protests. Impact was expected. The handling of future criminal cases by Gascón’s office also fueled new controversy in his bid for re-election this year.
“No one is above the law,” Bonta, a fellow Democrat and police reform advocate, said in a statement released by the attorney general’s press office. “Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with integrity and honesty. “At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the people of California and hold those who break the law accountable.”
Teran referred questions to his attorney, James Spartus, who called the case “dead on arrival” and said he was stunned by the charges, as his client was cooperating with the criminal investigation into the allegations.
“They are charging him for doing something within the scope of his employment that he has a duty to do,” Spartas said in an interview Wednesday.
Teran, an attorney for more than 35 years, worked for years as a deputy district attorney in L.A. County before holding positions involving law enforcement oversight and oversight. In 2018, he served as constitutional policing consultant to the LA County Sheriff’s Department, then as a consultant to the Office of the Inspector General, which provides oversight to the Sheriff’s Department. In 2019, she became a law enforcement accountability advisor in the LA County Public Defender’s Office.
Following Gascón’s election victory, Teran joined his administration as a special adviser in early 2021 and later began running the Justice System Integrity Division, or JSID, which handles police and attorney misconduct lawsuits . His appointment was one of several criticized by longtime prosecutors who were frustrated by Gascón’s desire to empower lawyers who had previously done defense work.
Gascón recently promoted Terán to assistant district attorney, giving him supervisory authority over units prosecuting organized crime, white-collar crime and corruption, as well as crimes committed by law enforcement and lawyers.
Teran’s current employment status is unclear, and a spokesperson for Gascón’s office declined to say whether she will remain an assistant district attorney.
The criminal complaint provides little detail about the underlying charges. A source familiar with the case, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the charges relate to documents that Teran downloaded while working at the Sheriff’s Department and later provided to the Discovery Unit in the DA’s office. I went.
Spartus said the investigation into his client began due to a complaint by former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who regularly clashed with those who attempted to provide oversight over his department, including Teran. In a livestream on Wednesday evening, Villanueva reiterated that in 2019, he had alerted the FBI and the Attorney General about concerns about Terran’s downloading of information, which he described as a “massive data breach.” Was described in.
Although the complaint does not specify what data Teran may have illegally misused, Spartus said he believes state prosecutors mistakenly uploaded public documents to the district attorney’s “Brady List.” Were trying to blame Terran for this.
Under the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors must hand over evidence favorable to defendants, which may include information that undermines the police officer’s credibility or reveals past dishonesty or wrongdoing. The “Brady List” refers to a database of law enforcement officers who have been accused or convicted of on-duty misconduct.
Spartus believed that the documents and data in question were either obtained through public court files or contained findings of foul play against sheriff’s deputies, which would violate California’s landmark police transparency law, Senate Bill 1421. There will be public record under.
The law, which makes information about serious use of force, allegations of sexual assault or dishonesty by California police officers public record, did not take effect until January 1, 2019. Teran is accused of having obtained the related information in 2018.
“It’s prima facie unsustainable,” Spartas said of the allegations. “You don’t need permission to use public information. They can’t say he took anything wrongfully,” he said, adding, “He had the documents. He had an obligation to his employer to create the Brady Database.
Villanueva called the charges against Teran a “vindication of my administration” and credited state prosecutors for uncovering “the truth.”
Villanueva said, “Many more public corruption cases involving Los Angeles County elected leaders and their appointees are being investigated by Mr. Bonta’s office, and based on what I know of the evidence, I “And indictments are expected.”
Gascón did not directly address the allegations against Teran, but in a statement, he defended his office’s handling of confidential law enforcement records.
“When I took office, we developed a protocol that ensured we complied with our constitutional obligations under Brady – which requires us to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense, a category that includes prior misconduct by law enforcement. Including — as well as complying with state and federal laws around privacy. I’m sticking to that protocol,” Gascón said Wednesday.
Gascón stressed that the case would not stop him from pursuing his agenda.
“I am committed to maintaining transparency and ensuring police accountability within Los Angeles County,” Gascón said in the statement.
Gascón’s opponent in the district attorney’s race, Nathan Hochman, attacked the allegations.
“This is the latest example of Gascón’s demonstrated record of poor judgment and lack of leadership in running the District Attorney’s office,” Hochman said. He added, “Ironically, Teran’s promotion to assistant district attorney occurred despite him being in charge of ethics and integrity.” Valid objections from many experienced prosecutors.
This is not the first time Teran has been publicly accused of misconduct while in Gascón’s employ.
Late last year, the former second in command of the JSID unit filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Teran encouraged prosecutors to announce a decision not to charge a sheriff’s deputy in a high-profile excessive force case. Because of how it might impact the re-election bid of then-Sheriff Villanueva.
Richard Pippin, President of the Association. The Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, which represents rank-and-file sheriff’s deputies, called for a comprehensive investigation into the “deeply disturbing” allegations.
“During her tenure at the Sheriff’s Department, Diana Teran’s contempt for the people attempting to keep our communities safe was evident, and so we were not surprised to see District Attorney George Gascón name her one of his top advisors. Pippin said in a statement Wednesday. “ALADS is demanding a full investigation of all matters, access to sensitive records, and other actions taken by Diana Terran and her staff throughout her tenure.” The scope or effort of this investigation should not be limited.”
