ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg police officer was arrested Tuesday following an investigation for sharing confidential information with the man who placed two explosive devices at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.
Officer Brandon Klaiber was flagged late last year by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for sharing protected information with a suspect from the St. Pete Police Department's databases.
Investigators discovered text messages between Officer Klaiber and the suspect, 46-year-old Bryan Eckley, who was arrested in October 2024 for placing two explosive devices at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in September. Within a 12-hour period, the casino had to be evacuated twice after the “crude concealed device with firework components" were discovered in the men's bathroom.
Eckley was charged with two counts of making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging a destructive device with the intent to cause harm, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said following his arrest.
Police said Klaiber gave information from their restricted databases that Eckley requested. The two were friends for more than 15 years, Chief Holloway said in a press conference Tuesday.
"It was an ongoing thing," the Chief said. "Just doing something for a friend."
On Dec. 2, the police department launched the investigation, placing their officer on administrative leave without pay and suspending his credentials and computer access. After obtaining an arrest warrant, Klaiber was arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office on April 15.
Klaiber, who was sworn in as an officer in November 2008, is now charged with two counts of "offenses against intellectual property."
This remains an ongoing investigation.