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Featured Video: St. Petersburg Officer Arrested Following Hard Rock Casino Explosives Incident
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg police officer was convicted on Tuesday for breaching department protocols linked to a case involving explosives at a Tampa casino.
This investigation was initiated in 2024 after an evacuation was necessitated at The Seminole Hard Rock Casino Tampa. Authorities discovered a “crude concealed device with fireworks components” in the men’s restroom.
Subsequently, 46-year-old Bryan Robert Eckley was apprehended a month following the unsettling incident.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement alerted the St. Petersburg Police Department about the possibility of one of their officers disseminating confidential information.
As a result, Officer Brandon Klaiber was arrested in April 2025.
The police department placed Klaiber on administrative leave without pay upon his arrest, and he recently resigned on Monday.
The Command Review Board reviewed Klaiber’s case Tuesday, and he was found guilty of the following department violations:
- 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.”
- “Unlawful or improper conduct either on or off the job, which an employee
- 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.”
- “Violation of a City or departmental rule which is considered within the Group
Police said investigators discovered text messages between Klaiber and Eckley, in which Klaiber gave information from their restricted databases that Eckley requested.
Klaiber was accused of searching for license plates and other information on a secure database and then providing that information to Eckley.
Law enforcement said the two were friends for more than 15 years.