LOS ANGELES – The California Attorney General’s Office filed felony charges Wednesday against Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Diana Teran. She is accused of repeated and unauthorized use of data from confidential, statutorily protected peace officer files, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Teran, who is a member of District Attorney George Gascon’s leadership team, was charged by the California Department of Justice with 11 felony counts prohibiting the use of data from a government computer system without permission, the Attorney General’s Office said in a press statement.
According to an extensive investigation by the AG’s Office, Teran is accused of accessing computer data including numerous confidential peace officer files in 2018. The alleged actions occurred while she worked as a constitutional policing adviser at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She then unlawfully, and without permission, used that data at the District Attorney’s Office once she began working there in January 2021, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said, “No one is above the law. Public officials are called to serve the people and the state of California with integrity and honesty.”
Teran is one of Gascón’s top advisors who supervises high-profile and sensitive cases including police misconduct, fraud and public corruption, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A spokeswoman for Gascón said the LA County DA’s Office would not address specific personnel matters. However, it would “comply with any investigation from the Attorney General’s Office” and remained “committed to upholding transparency and ensuring police accountability within Los Angeles County.”
Teran has not issued a comment, and is expected to surrender to authorities for processing with a court date to be set in the future, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it’s cooperating fully with the California Department of Justice investigation.
“The Department is concerned about any personnel data or files that are used in an unofficial capacity and will be conducting an internal review to ensure our employees’ information is secure and protected,” it said.
In 2019, then-Los Angeles County Undersheriff Tim Murakami said the department launched an investigation targeting Teran along with Inspector General Max Huntsman for reportedly accessing confidential personnel files of high-ranking sheriff’s executives, including then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva, reported FOX 11 Los Angeles.
At the time, Murakami told local media outlets that Teran had downloaded confidential personnel records on behalf of the Inspector General’s Office just prior to Villanueva being sworn into office in late 2018.
At the outset of the investigation, Huntsman denied any wrongdoing. He insisted that a county ordinance allowed his office access to county employee records, while claiming his office kept them confidential.
The specific confidential records that are encompassed in the AG’s Office investigation concern 11 sheriff’s deputies, according to the criminal complaint filed in L.A. Superior Court. The deputies’ names were not included in the court filing.
However, one of the victimized LASD deputies is a retired detective. While asking to remain anonymous, he told NBC Los Angeles on Wednesday that he was glad to see complaints about the misuse of his personnel information investigated.
“Reputations and careers were ruined,” the detective emphasized as a result in the breech of confidentiality.
Robert Pippin is president of the 8,000-member Association for Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs, the union that represents most deputies. He said the criminal charges were simply the latest example of “poor judgment and lack of leadership.”
“Promoting Teran to Assistant District Attorney, ironically in charge of ethics and integrity, even occurred despite legitimate objections from many experienced prosecutors,” Pippin exclaimed.
“Those objections included Teran being paid by the Public Defender’s Office at the same time she worked for the DA’s Office and Teran suppressing a declination of a police officer’s abuse case to influence the 2022 LA County Sheriff’s race.”
Criminal charges against one of Gascón’s top advisors — particularly one connected to his agenda of law enforcement accountability and criminal justice reform — stunned the state’s legal community, the Los Angeles Times reported.
As shockwaves reverberated following the announcement of criminal charges against Teran, it is expected to have a far-reaching impact on active and future criminal cases handled by Gascón’s office, while also fueling new controversy as the George Soros-funded DA pursues reelection this year.
