Gascon's deputy charged with misuse of police officer data

Attorney General Rob Bonta charged a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney with 11 felonies for alleged misuse of government data.

According to a Wednesday news release from Bonta's office, the charges against Diana Teran date back to 2018 when she was Constitutional Policing Advisor at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Bonta claimed Teran "accessed computer data including numerous confidential peace officer files," and then "impermissibly used that data" at the District Attorney's office in 2021. Each charge comes with a potential sentence of one to three years of incarceration and a fine of $5,000.

"No one is above the law," Bonta said in the release. "Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with integrity and honesty."

Teran appears to occupy a prominent and unusual role within District Attorney George Gascon's office. Her LinkedIn page lists her as the Assistant District Attorney of Ethics & Integrity Operations. She is also a former Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender.

According to a 2021 opinion piece the Daily Journal by retired prosecutor and active Gascon critic Kathleen Cady, emails show that Teran was on loan from the Public Defender's office and was the "point person" for all "exceptional conduct cases." This is a reference to Gascon's policy of seeking to resentence some prisoners because of good behavior.