Phoenix police file sheds light on sexual harassment claim against Tyler Kamp

A court on Wednesday ordered the release of the Phoenix police personnel file of Tyler Kamp, the Democratic candidate for Maricopa County sheriff.

The file contains a first-person statement from an officer in the department who alleged Kamp repeatedly sexually harassed her over months while both were employed by the Phoenix Police Department. The sexual harassment investigation was previously reported by ABC15 , which obtained the final investigative report from the Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Herrod ordered the Phoenix Police Department to release Kamp's personnel file by the end of Wednesday to Brian Anderson, the Phoenix resident who filed the lawsuit seeking the records. The Arizona Republic obtained a copy of the file from Phoenix police after being told about the lawsuit's outcome by a political consultant for Jerry Sheridan, the Republican candidate for sheriff.

A spokesperson for the Kamp campaign said the file contained nothing new.

"Tyler has stated for months that while he regrets the situation, he did not engage in harassment, only mutual text exchanges," said Matt Grodsky, a spokesperson for the Kamp campaign.

Grodsky said Kamp's due process rights were violated by the release of the personnel file, and that Kamp was not notified of the personnel file's release until his campaign was contacted by The Republic.

"Jerry Sheridan is getting desperate," Grodsky said.

Read the report: Phoenix Police Department investigative file on Tyler Kamp

The conduct giving rise to the sexual harassment investigation took place from November 2020 to July 2021, according to the personnel file material. The report of harassment was received in 2022, according to documents in the personnel file from an internal affairs investigation, which found the sexual harassment claim was substantiated.

The name of the officer who brought the complaint was withheld from the records. She told investigators the harassment took place via text messages and in person, according to the records.

"I was sexually harassed and affected in and out of the work place emotionally and mentally by Lt. Tyler Kamp due to many inappropriate sexual comments," a statement from the officer said.

Her statement fills more than eight pages and includes detailed descriptions of Kamp's conduct and when and where it occurred.

She was afraid to report Kamp, and that she hoped the behavior would stop, but that Kamp persisted, her statement said.

"Tyler would ask me to go out with him, to buy me drinks outside of work while being (an) officer in training and as a probationary officer, comment about my body and weight, send text messages that would include him stating how I looked in yoga pants and about me bending over and having flirty eyes," the statement said.

The officer alleged Kamp's behavior prevented her from working and responding to calls for service and caused her to stay in her patrol car in an attempt to avoid him. Her statement said Kamp would ask her to meet during work hours for things unrelated to work and repeatedly solicited pictures of her.

She alleged Kamp's behavior restricted her from training and career advancement because she reported to him in the chain of command.

Her statement also said Kamp would track her location, send lewd messages discussing his sex life and offer unwanted advice about hers.

In one instance, she messaged Kamp after he somehow found out she had purchased a new car, the statement said.

"I sent him a GIF of a gorilla stalking through a bush to reference that he had eyes everywhere and was stalking," her statement said. "He replied with a GIF of a man with binoculars and tongue out noting that I was thinking he was a stalker."

The officer's statement said she was "extremely uncomfortable" with Kamp's behavior.

"This damaged my training and ability to work functionally at work and have to constantly be mentally prepared for the behavior and potentially come in contact with Tyler Kamp," the statement said. "I have struggled over this issue for a long time and continuously trying (to) cope (with) how I am seen and viewed at my work place, afraid of trusting any employee at a higher rank and feeling at a loss."

Kamp retired in 2021, several months before the complaint was made, according to the records.

"I have permanently changed my behavior and thought process regarding at work and myself as an officer which has caused a negative impact," the officer's statement concluded.

Reach the reporter at .