Officer Shared Confidential Info With Man Who Planted Explosives At FL Casino, Police Say

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Officer Brandon Klaiber was arrested Tuesday for sharing confidential information with a suspect accused of planting explosive devices at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, according to a St. Petersburg Police Department news release.

Klaiber was charged with two counts of offenses against intellectual property, a third-degree felony.

Late last year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement notified St. Petersburg police about potential criminal violations by Klaiber, who they accused of sharing protected information from law enforcement information with one of their suspects, Bryan Eckley, police said.

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Eckley was arrested in October for planting explosive devices at the casino. Investigators found text messages between Klaiber and Eckley in which the officer provided information from restricted databases when the suspect asked for it.

Klaiber, who was sworn in as an office in November 2008, was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 2, at the start of the police investigation into him, and his credentials and computer access were suspended.

He is currently on administrative leave without pay. The agency’s Office of Professional Standards will also conduct an administrative investigation into the allegations.

“The State of Florida limits the access to, and use of, personal information from police databases to officers only when working in an official capacity,” police said. “Accessing or sharing private information with an unauthorized person carries a criminal charge for the officer.”