Bad Apple Baseball Cards: Daniel Espinoza
Infamous for retaliation, Espinoza is a short-fused authoritarian who has been arrested twice, shot two people and once refused to help a woman who was assaulted.
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Daniel Espinoza is a motorcycle cop with a long history of illegal and problematic behavior. Before joining the force, Espinoza was arrested for popping wheelies on a bald tire — the kind of offense he would later police as a traffic officer. He has shot two people, killing one. The officer has some suspensions under his belt, once solicited sex from an undercover cop, and is known for retaliating against citizens who talk back.
Espinoza even sued the city, alleging that he was discriminated against by being passed over for a promotion due to his military leave. The judge in that case called the claims “borderline frivolous” and a waste of judicial resources.
Let’s review Espinoza’s history.
2004 Solicited Sex from an Undercover
Lakewood police were conducting a sting, with a female officer posing as a sex worker
Espinoza pulled up in a van and asked if she was “working” and then questioned if she was a cop, to which she replied, “Do I look like a cop?”
He asked her the cost for “around the world.” She told him $100 and instructed him to pull around the other side of the building, where an officer was waiting.
2015 Multiple Failures to Activate In-Car Video
In 2015, Espinoza was twice investigated for not activating his in-car video.
The first was an interview with a witness, and was treated as relatively minor, but the second involved transporting an injured prisoner to the hospital.
Espinoza was aware his in-car video was not functioning, but failed to wait or fix the problem before driving.
Espinoza was suspended for one day.
2015 Ignored Assault While Working Off-Duty
Espinoza was working for a retail store in his SPD uniform.
A woman was assaulted outside the store where Espinoza was working, and reported that she had been assaulted. Espinoza refused to take any follow-up action, including calling for on-duty officers.
When the woman finally called 911 with someone else’s phone, Espinoza started to treat the woman like she was having a mental health crisis and didn’t really need help.
Espinoza heard on his radio that this assault had happened at his location but still did nothing. The man who assaulted the woman got away.
Officers are required to act as police officers even when off-duty. Espinoza was suspended for three days after failing to act.
2021 Retaliation During a Traffic Stop
During a traffic stop at the height of COVID-19 public health measures, Espinoza was questioned why he wasn’t wearing a mask. Espinoza did not answer any of the driver’s questions.
The driver’s information had recently been stolen out of his car, and when Espinoza learned that another officer had already worked with the driver, he had planned to let him go.
The driver asked for Espinoza's name and badge number, which set Espinoza off.
Espinoza then changed course, went back to his motorcycle, wrote a citation, handed it to the driver, and left without answering any questions.
2021 Unprofessionalism Complaints
In 2021, Espinoza racked up five complaints in a week, which OPA combined into one investigation.
On the first stop, Espinoza would not answer the driver’s questions about why she had been stopped, rather saying, “I’m not you, I don’t know. What did you do wrong?” Espinoza finally told her it was for expired tags, after writing the ticket.
Espinoza refused to wear a mask at the stops even after being asked.
Finally, on the fourth complaint, Espinoza tried to intimidate a driver after she asked when she had used a cell phone while driving.
When she challenged why he was being so unhelpful, he replied, “Okay, you’re not in control,” and continued, “Who’s stopping who right now?” after the driver reacted.
2022 Unprofessional Traffic Stop
Espinoza stopped a vehicle for allegedly making an illegal U-turn and other traffic violations. He didn’t give a reason for the stop. Instead, he quickly demanded the driver’s information.
Eventually, the driver asked why he had been stopped, and Espinoza gave a short, cryptic answer about failing to signal over and over again, which the driver disputed.
The driver asked to see Espinoza’s supervisor, but this request was refused multiple times. The driver called 911.
Espinoza stormed off after the 911 call, returned the driver’s information and sped away quickly.
During the investigation, it was found that Espinoza’s body-worn video camera had been broken for nearly two weeks. However, OPA could not prove Espinoza knew that or had been hiding it.
Espinoza was suspended for a day for several violations, including unprofessional behavior, failing to assist a citizen with a complaint, and failing to submit the ticket by the end of his shift.