Officer Who Shared Confidential Info With Suspect Guilty Of Department Violations: St. Pete Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — An officer who shared confidential information with a suspect accused of planting explosives at a Tampa casino was found guilty of department violations, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a news release.

Brandon Klaiber was arrested on two counts of offenses against intellectual property, a third-degree felony on April 15.

Klaiber, who was sworn in as an officer in November 2008, resigned from the department on Monday.

The department’s Command Review Board reviewed his case and determined that if he hadn’t resigned, he would have been fired, SPD said.

He was found guilty of two department violations, police said.

The violations are:

• City of St. Petersburg Rules and Regulations of the Personnel Management System, Group III, #26, to wit: "Unlawful or improper conduct either on or off the job, which an employee knows or reasonably should know could negatively affect the employee's relationship to the job, fellow workers, reputation, or goodwill in the community."
• City of St. Petersburg Rules and Regulations of the Personnel Management System Group III, #31, to wit: "Violation of a City or departmental rule which is considered within the Group III level for overall seriousness, nature, and significance of the misconduct."

Related Stories:

• Officer Shared Confidential Info With Suspect: St. Pete Police
• Man Hid Explosive Devices In Hard Rock Casino Bathrooms

In late 2024, 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 Bryan Eckley, a suspect accused of planting explosive devices at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa in September of that year, police said.

Eckley was arrested in October 2024.

Investigators found text messages between Klaiber and Eckley in which the officer provided information from restricted databases when the suspect asked for it.

Months ahead of his arrest, Klaiber was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 2, 2024, at the start of the police investigation into him, and his credentials and computer access were suspended.