Reports of sexual harassment and misconduct surrounding Maricopa County sheriff’s candidate Tyler Kamp come to light days before the election.

Kamp previously dodged questions about a brief report on sexual harassment released by the city while he worked as a lieutenant in the Phoenix Police Department. Now a lawsuit forced the release of hours of audio interviews and text messages between him and an officer-in-training who eventually became a probationary officer and reported directly.

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

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

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

The agent obtained Kamp’s personal cell phone number and contacted him to discuss work-related issues. However, on December 3, Kamp asked the officer to share photos of his hunt. Kamp responded to the photo saying he was “excited” and asked her to go out for a drink. 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 messaged the policewoman asking what she was wearing, to which she replied that she was wearing black clothes and he replied that “black clothes on a blonde look so beautiful.”

Following further advances from Kamp, the police officer sent him a message stating that she was not interested and wanted to focus on her work. However, only about a week later, he messaged her: “Yoga pants??? Shoot, I missed it… uh, a little warning next time please!!

Another time, Kamp asked her to come to a party on New Year’s Eve, which she said she was working at. He responded by saying: “Oh and apologies in advance for Thursday night in case I send you something a little inappropriate after a few drinks.”

A few days later, he texted her: “Hey! Aren’t you proud of me??? I didn’t send you anything inappropriate in New York.

Following the incident, the officer said Kamp began to make her feel uncomfortable and she was “in trouble” with him.

When the police officer graduated as a probation officer and reported to Kamp, he began tracking her whereabouts by keeping track of her schedule, where she was assigned and the vehicle that she was taking. He would meet with her while she was on duty to discuss personal matters.

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

The officer confronted Kamp again about his behavior in a text message to which he responded by saying, “Okay, fine. So next time I comment about you leaning in or flirting with your eyes (intentionally or not), just tell me to stop and grow up….”

However, Kamp continued to harass her, going so far as to discuss his sex life with her. This lasted until Kamp retired from the Phoenix PD and moved to Ghana. The policewoman then changed her phone number and reported the incident. She said in the report that she was too afraid to report Kamp beforehand because he was her lieutenant and she did not want to lose her job. She said she did everything she could to avoid Kamp — hiding whenever she saw him and staying in her patrol car until the very end of her shift.

In response to the release of this extensive investigation, Kamp’s campaign stated that he never participated in an interview during the investigation. However, audio files have been obtained that prove otherwise.

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

“All the conversations, if you want to call it flirting or joking, were completely mutual and solicited on his part,” Kamp said, saying he would have these types of conversations with any of his colleagues and claiming that he “doesn’t do it”. understand the younger generation.

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

“I might have some friendly banter with another guy or girl,” Kamp said. “That doesn’t mean I’m attracted to them. That doesn’t mean I want to get in their pants.

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

An investigation revealed substantiated evidence that in 2013, Kamp used police resources to conduct an Arizona Criminal Justice Information System query on the husband of a co-worker with whom he was having a ” intimate relationship.

The co-worker had asked Kamp to look up her husband’s driver’s license because he didn’t have his wallet with him and needed the number. During an interview, the husband said he asked his wife if she could get the information, but did not know Kamp had conducted the research.

Kamp was suspended for eight hours without pay.

Kamp’s campaign released a statement saying the release of these documents is a “desperate” attempt by Republican candidate Jerry Sheridan.

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

Anderson requested the documents in March after hearing rumors about Kamp’s misconduct and told Center Square that he had no connection to Sheridan’s campaign. Anderson added that he filed the application for registration in March, when neither Sheridan nor Kamp were the candidates.

Anderson was forced to file a lawsuit after six months of the Phoenix Police Department neglecting to provide Kamp’s personnel file.

“Whether Kamp’s personnel file reveals anything is an entirely different question from the lawsuit, which is that the government should not put its finger on the election ladder by hiding the records,” Anderson said . “When you have candidates specifically for this position where they oversee law enforcement for four and a half million people, it’s really important that voters have timely access to public records to know how people would behave in a public service.”

Read the full report below.