Full report released on sexual harassment of Maricopa County sheriff candidate

Reports of sexual harassment and misconduct against Maricopa County Sheriff candidate Tyler Kamp are coming to light following the election in just a couple of days.

Kamp has previously dodged questions regarding a brief sexual assault report that was released by city officials during his time as a lieutenant in the Phoenix Police Department. Now a lawsuit has forced the release of hours of audio interviews and text messages between him and the officer in training, who eventually became a probationary officer reporting directly.

The investigation confirmed that between November 2020 and July 2021, Kamp sexually harassed a female officer, whose identity has been redacted, and violated city and Phoenix Police Department policies prohibiting discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

“All this time I felt like Kamp was trying to control my work, (making) me feel like I might get in trouble if I didn’t respond, if I (weren’t) cordial with him and (if I didn’t) make up with his behavior,” the officer said in an interview with investigators.

The officer provided investigators with screenshots of text messages between her and Kamp that began on Nov. 30, 2020.

The officer obtained Kamp’s personal cell phone number and contacted him to discuss work matters. However, on Dec. 3, Kamp asked the officer to share photos of her hunt. Kamp responded to the photo by saying he was “turned on” and invited her out for drinks. The officer said she made it clear she was not interested in a relationship with Kamp and did not think it was appropriate because she was in training and Kamp was married with children.

Kamp also sent a message to the female officer asking what she was wearing, to which she responded that she was wearing black clothing and he responded that “black clothing looks really good on a blonde.”

Following Kampa’s further success, the female officer sent him a message saying she was not interested and wanted to focus on work. However, just a week later he texted her: “Yoga pants??? Damn, I missed it… mmm, next time be careful please!!”

Another time, Kamp invited her to come to a New Year’s Eve party, which she said she was working for. He responded by saying, “Oh, and I apologize in advance for Thursday night if after a few drinks I text you something inappropriate.”

A few days later he texted her: “Hi! Aren’t you proud of me??? I didn’t send you anything inappropriate for New Year.”

After this incident, the policewoman said that Kamp began to make her feel uncomfortable and that she had “trouble” with him.

When the policewoman was given the job as a probationary officer and reported to Kamp, he began tracking where she was, tracking her schedule, where she was assigned and what car she drove. He would meet her when she was on duty to discuss personal matters.

The report also said Kamp would interfere with the officer’s training and employment opportunities, saying she would receive special attention and people would be jealous of her because of “her looks.”

The policewoman again confronted Kamp about his behavior in a text message, to which he responded: “Okay, deal. So next time I comment about you leaning in or flirting with your eyes (intentionally or unintentionally), just tell me to stop it and grow up…”

However, Kamp continued to pester her, going so far as to discuss his sex life with her. This continued until Kamp left the Phoenix police and moved to Ghana. The policewoman then changed her phone number and reported the incident. In the report, she said she was too scared to report Kampa sooner because he was her lieutenant and she didn’t want to lose her job. She said she did everything she could to avoid Kamp – hiding when she saw him and staying in her patrol car until the end of her shift.

In response to the publication of the full investigation, Kampa’s campaign said that he never participated in interviews during the investigation. However, audio files have been obtained that prove otherwise.

During the interview, Kamp said he had no recollection of inappropriate conversations with the female officer and could not provide evidence of text messages because he had lost his phone in South Africa.

“Any conversations, if you want to call it flirting or banter, were completely mutual and required of her,” Kamp said, saying he would like to have similar conversations with any of his colleagues and saying he “won’t understand young generation”.

He said even if the officer’s allegations were true, he doesn’t see how it could be considered sexual harassment.

“I could have some friendly banter with the other guy or the other girl,” Kamp said. “That doesn’t mean I’m attracted to them. It doesn’t mean I want to get into their pants.”

This was not the first time Kamp violated department administrative rules.

The investigation revealed substantive evidence that in 2013, Kamp used police resources to conduct a request to the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System about the husband of a female colleague with whom he was having an “intimate relationship.”

A co-worker asked Kamp to look for her husband’s driver’s license because her husband didn’t have his wallet with him and needed the number. During the interview, the husband said that he asked his wife if she could obtain this information, but did not know that Kamp was conducting this search.

Kamp was suspended for eight hours without pay.

Camp’s campaign released a statement saying the release of the tapes was a “desperate” effort by Republican candidate Jerry Sheridan.

However, it actually came about following a public records request from Maricopa County resident Brian Anderson.

Anderson requested the records in March following rumors of misconduct by Kamp and told The Center Square he had no connection to Sheridan’s campaign. Anderson added that he submitted the records request in March, when neither Sheridan nor Kamp were nominated.

Anderson was forced to file the lawsuit after the Phoenix Police Department failed to provide Kamp’s personnel file for six months.

“Whether Kam’s personal record reveals anything is a completely different question than the core of the lawsuit, which is that the government should not influence the scope of an election by withholding records,” Anderson said. “When you have candidates, especially for this position where they oversee the law enforcement activities of four four and a half million people, it is really important that voters have timely access to public records to know how people will behave in public office.”

Read the full report below.