Former top LAPD official found guilty of tracking a fellow officer with AirTag
Former Los Angeles assistant police chief Alfred “Al” Labrada has retired from the department after a disciplinary board found that he secretly tracked a fellow officer he was romantically involved with and then tried to cover his tracks, according to three sources familiar with the case.
The board found Labrada guilty Monday of all seven counts he faced, including that he lied to internal affairs detectives and tried to persuade a witness not to testify in a department investigation into the matter, according to a source who requested anonymity to discuss the normally secret proceedings.
The three-member panel was supposed to reconvene in October to decide on an appropriate penalty for Labrada, who faced termination. But Labrada confirmed through a spokesperson Friday that he was leaving the department; his retirement is retroactive to July 1, the spokesperson said.
An email to the LAPD seeking Labrada’s work status was not immediately responded to Friday.
The panel’s unanimous ruling represents a startling fall for an official who was second in command to then-Chief Michel Moore and seemed poised to potentially take the reins of the the department. The case against Labrada stems from allegations by LAPD Officer Dawn Silva, who said he placed an Apple AirTag under the bumper of her car to track her movements while the couple were ending their domestic partnership.
Under the city’s charter, LAPD disciplinary hearings play out like minitrials, with evidence and witnesses, in front of a three-member panel. With very few exceptions, the proceedings are held behind closed doors, in windowless hearing rooms in the Professional Standards Bureau’s office on Figueroa Street.
The officer from the LAPD’s training division said she broke off her five-year romantic relationship with former assistant chief Alfred “Al” Labrada in July.
The Labrada hearing, which was spread out over several weeks, was described to The Times by someone familiar with the case who was not authorized to speak publicly. The panel of three civilians heard evidence suggesting Labrada tried to cover up his actions when confronted about Silva’s allegations.
Among the charges leveled against Labrada by the department is that he lied to internal affairs. The panel heard that Labrada initially told investigators he had purchased AirTags to track his luggage while he was on a Caribbean cruise. But after investigators obtained a search warrant for his city-assigned phone, they found screenshots in its “Recently Deleted” folder suggesting he had used the devices to monitor Silva’s movements on numerous occasions over several months.
In a statement Friday, Labrada lashed out at what he described as “the political influence that has tainted the Board of Rights and LAPD Internal Affairs process.”
“Having witnessed firsthand the lack of a fair process, I am now more determined than ever to fight for the officers whose lives have been impacted by this flawed system. Furthermore, I am deeply disappointed in the failures of the Internal Affairs process,” the statement read. “In achieving the rank of Assistant Chief, the second highest position within the LAPD, I never expected that my impeccable service record and three decades of dedication would be marred by a malicious and unfounded attack.”
After The Times reported on the allegations last fall, Labrada was relieved of duty, demoted to commander and recommended for termination, pending a disciplinary panel known as a board of rights that would determine whether he would be fired.
The department’s probe also revealed that Labrada unpaired the tracking devices from his phone almost immediately after receiving a call from Moore telling him he was under internal investigation. Investigators also uncovered text messages they described as threatening and possessive that Labrada sent to Silva during their relationship.
Even in seemingly clear-cut cases of serious misconduct, the LAPD’s disciplinary system has led to outcomes in which those involved keep their jobs and continue collecting paychecks. Now, some leaders are renewing calls for a radical overhaul.
In one message, he reportedly warned her not to “be bending over for” other men, using a Spanish homophobic slur. In others, he sent her knife emoji and wrote “be good or cut you” and demanded repeatedly to know if she “loved him.”
The department also accused him of trying to coerce a witness in the case, another LAPD officer, into not testifying, reportedly threatening to reveal damaging information about the officer. In presenting its case, the department called several witnesses to testify, including Silva and Assistant Chief Daniel Randolph, who told the panel that Labrada’s actions after being put under investigation suggested a “consciousness of guilt.”
Labrada’s attorney called several former senior LAPD officials to testify about his character during the proceeding, including former Deputy Chief Dennis Kato, who testified that he had known Labrada since Labrada was a young sergeant and that he had always found him to be upstanding.
Robert Arcos, now a top-ranking official in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office who has applied for the LAPD police chief job, described his former protege as a hard worker and strong advocate for the Latino community. But when pressed by an attorney for the department, Arcos said he would recommend removing any employee who, like Labrada, was found to have lied.
Attorneys for the department argued that, because of concerns about his credibility, Labrada would no longer be allowed to testify in court.
Before his demotion, Labrada had been one of the highest-ranking Latinos in the department’s history. He has repeatedly denied that he purposely tracked Silva. This year, he filed a government claim against the LAPD — a precursor to a lawsuit — accusing Moore of violating his due process by publicly discussing his case before it was resolved. Moore, he alleged, had often been more lenient, a double standard that emerged when Moore didn’t take a similar action against another top former LAPD assistant chief who had an inappropriate relationship with the same woman as Labrada.
Silva has sued the city, alleging department officials failed to protect her from backlash after she accused Labrada. She has a temporary restraining order against him, which is set to expire next year. As a condition of the order, Labrada is barred from possessing any firearms unless he meets certain conditions.
In his claim, Labrada accused Moore — who retired at the end of February, but said he would continue working for the LAPD as a consultant — of leading a campaign to block his career advancement, saying his former boss felt threatened at a time when he faced criticism over a drop in morale and staffing shortages. Labrada also cited an alleged culture of cronyism at the LAPD under Moore that involved looking the other way when the chief’s allies were accused of misconduct.
After a police investigation into the AirTag allegations — which stemmed from a report filed in September with San Bernardino County authorities — prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Labrada, citing insufficient evidence. The board’s ruling raises fresh questions about that decision.
On Friday, Labrada said in his statement that he would continue to explore his legal options.
“My pursuit of justice is far from over. I will exhaust all available avenues to ensure that the justice system in America, whether within a government agency like the LAPD or in a court of law, remains fair, just, and fulfills its essential role in upholding a free and open legal system for all,” the statement read.
His words echo similar criticism of the board of rights process by officers who have sued the department and the police union. In recent months, a broader debate about overhauling the department’s much-maligned discipline system has caused tension between the union and some high-ranking department officials.
Former LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said he wanted to ‘set the record straight’ after he was accused of stalking by a fellow officer.
Late last month, the City Council approved a ballot measure that would give the police chief the authority to fire officers outright for certain serious misconduct, while eliminating the option for officers to have their disciplinary cases reviewed exclusively by civilians.
In February, Silva sued the city for sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation, alleging that her romance with Labrada from October 2017 to July 2023 ended “because of the toxic nature of their relationship.”
She alleged Labrada kept messaging her, even after a highly publicized Oct. 7 news conference during which he vehemently denied the allegations she made against him. Labrada said at the time that news coverage of his case had caused him “significant emotional and physical distress.”
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