Allegations against school district police investigator to remain in case

A federal judge Thursday denied the government’s request to keep misconduct allegations against an internal school police investigator out of a criminal excessive force case he helped the FBI put together.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey said allegations against the investigator, Christopher Klemp, at this time are “too vague and unsubstantiated” for her to determine whether they are relevant to the case.

Klemp, an internal affairs investigator for the Clark County School District the past four years, helped the FBI investigate excessive force allegations against James Lescinsky, another school police officer.

Dorsey said she would revisit the Klemp allegations if the defense provides more details during Lescinsky’s trial, which is to start July 26. She also said she would allow the government to raise any objections at that time.

Lescinsky was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this year 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.

A June 19 Las Vegas Review-Journal story brought to light allegations that Klemp threatened witnesses and suppressed evidence in unrelated internal investigations he conducted. Lescinsky’s Reno lawyer Jack Campbell later argued in court papers that Klemp committed similar misconduct during the investigation of his client.

Justice Department prosecutors from Washington, D.C. had asked Dorsey to keep the Klemp allegations out of Lescinsky’s trial. They argued the allegations aren’t relevant because Klemp won’t be testifying for the government.

But Campbell contended the allegations were important to Lescinsky’s defense, and he accused Klemp of violating his client’s rights while collaborating with the FBI.

Campbell alleged that Klemp improperly launched an internal investigation of Lescinsky after several department higher-ups had concluded Lescinsky followed use of force procedures.

“I believe the judge made the proper decision because the allegations highlighted in the Review-Journal article indicated serious misconduct on the part of Detective Klemp,” Campbell said Thursday. “The court has demonstrated that if that behavior influenced any element of this case against Jim Lescinsky, it could have dramatic implications for the government’s case.”

Most of the allegations surfaced in a recorded conversation between Klemp and another school police officer, John Maier. The contents of the tape were disclosed in the Review-Journal story.

Klemp, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, 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.

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

Meanwhile Thursday, prosecutors disclosed in court papers that five current and former school district police officers had sent the FBI “sensitive” documents supporting their misconduct claims against Klemp.

Those are the same documents the officers gave District Attorney Steve Wolfson last month.

Prosecutors said the documents have nothing to do with the Lescinsky case and they don’t believe they are obligated to turn them over to the defendant.

But “out of an abundance of caution,” they said, they were making Dorsey aware of the documents and offering her a chance to review them in chambers.

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