Florida Police Officer Arrested for Sharing Information with Casino Bomb Suspect

• St Petersburg police officer Brandon Klaiber allegedly shared info from police databases with accused Hard Rock ‘bomber’
• Bryan Eckley is accused of placing two homemade explosive devices at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in September 2024.

A Florida police officer was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sharing sensitive information with a man accused of planting explosive devices at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.

Officer Brandon Klaiber, 40, of the St Petersburg Police Department was found to have shared information from restricted police databases with suspect Bryan Eckley.

The latter is facing charges of making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging a destructive device with the intent to cause harm.

Eckley placed two homemade devices in a restroom at the Hard Rock on September 29 and 30, according to prosecutors.

This led authorities to evacuate the property twice within 12 hours. Police described the objects at the time as “crude concealed device[s] with firework components” that were radio-controlled.

Motive Unknown

An arrest warrant noted that one device was found close to a gas line. Both devices were placed in a manner that “had they detonated, […] posed a risk of serious bodily injury to anyone in the vicinity,” according to the warrant.

Following the incidents, police were able to identify and trace Eckley from surveillance footage, and he was arrested in late October. Investigators said they found firearms, a stun gun, chemical grenades, and flashbang devices at Eckley’s home.

Police haven’t indicated why they believe he planted the devices.

When investigators examined Eckley’s phone, they found text message exchanges between him and Klaiber. These showed Klaiber had provided Eckley with tag vehicle numbers and driver’s license information on certain individuals at his request.

Klaiber first shared information with Eckley in June 2024, three months before the incident at the Hard Rock. The officer has been on unpaid administrative leave since December 3. His credentials and computer access were also suspended. He’s been charged with two counts of offenses against intellectual property, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Old Friends

Holloway said Klaiber and Eckley were friends for more than 15 years, and sharing the information was “an ongoing thing.”

Eckley was released from a Hillsborough County jail on April 8 after posting a $200K bail, according to court records. He denies the charges.

His lawyer, Anthony Rickman, told The Tampa Bay Times that the state had “failed to establish that it was anything more than just a firework, and fireworks are excluded from the statutory meaning of a destructive device.”