School district internal police investigator facing new misconduct claims

New misconduct allegations against an internal school police investigator surfaced Friday in connection with a federal criminal case he helped the FBI put together.

In court papers, the lawyer for a Clark County School District police officer charged with using excessive force accused the embattled investigator, Christopher Klemp, of violating the officer’s rights while collaborating with the FBI.

Reno attorney Jack Campbell alleged that Klemp improperly launched an internal investigation of the officer, James Lescinsky, after several department higher-ups had concluded Lescinsky followed proper use of force procedures.

Lescinsky was indicted by a federal grand jury in May on charges of using excessive force against two people, including a student, at a North Las Vegas disciplinary school in May 2015, and then trying to cover it up. He pleaded not guilty and is free on his own recognizance.

Campbell alleged in his court papers that Klemp “engaged in questionable practices” during his investigation of Lescinsky and “breached the confidentiality” by taking the case to the FBI.

Klemp’s improper actions may have “contaminated” the criminal case against Lescinsky, Campbell argued.

Campbell also said he opposed the government’s attempt to prohibit alleged misconduct by Klemp in other internal investigations from being introduced in Lescinsky’s criminal case. That evidence is relevant to his client’s defense, he said.

Much of the evidence surfaced in a recently revealed tape of a recorded conversation between Klemp and another school police officer, John Maier. The Las Vegas Review-Journal disclosed the contents of the tape in a June 19 story.

Klemp has since come under investigation by police and the district attorney’s office for statements he made during the recorded conversation. The tape was secretly made by Maier in December 2014 but did not surface until last month.

On the tape, Klemp discloses confidential information about another internal investigation and instructs Maier to blame the leak on a police union member.

Since the Review-Journal story, current and former school police officers, including Maier, have signed a letter asking District Attorney Steve Wolfson to investigate the alleged wrongdoing by Klemp.

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the school district did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegations against Klemp. Capt. Ken Young, a spokesman for the district’s police department, declined comment because of ongoing investigations.

Klemp could not be reached for comment Friday. He has previously hung up on a reporter when asked to comment.

The tape raised new concerns about a longstanding toxic culture at the school police department that prompted at least four of its officers to cooperate with the FBI.

The concerns stem from a 2009 party that allowed underage drinking and was attended by police employees. A young drunken driver who left the party struck and killed UNLV honors student Angela Peterson. Since then, whistleblowers within the school police department have been fighting to expose an alleged cover-up of the presence of officers amid the illegal conduct.

Two of those whistleblowers, former Lt. Dan Burgess and ex-officer Mike Thomas, were among the five officers who signed the letter to Wolfson.

Both men, who joined Maier in cooperating with the FBI, are fighting to get their jobs back and contend they were fired because of skewed investigations by Klemp aimed at retaliating against them. Maier is still with the police department.

The FBI has not filed any corruption charges stemming from the cooperation of the school police officers, but its relationship with Klemp led to Lescinsky’s indictment.

The tape showed that Klemp bragged about his dealings with the FBI.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find @JGermanRJ on Twitter.