An officer who has been with the Atlanta Police Department for two decades was arrested Sunday, accused of “inappropriately“ touching a woman during an off-duty incident, authorities said.
Lt. Kyle Kleinhenz, 45, is facing a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery and was booked and released from the Fulton County Jail on Monday, according to officials. He was granted a $1,000 bond, jail records show.
Kleinhenz has since been relieved of duty.
“The Atlanta Police Department takes all allegations of officer misconduct with the utmost seriousness,” police Chief Darin Schierbaum said in a statement. “We are committed to maintaining the trust of our community by holding our officers to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Any behavior that falls short of these expectations is thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action is taken.”
Kleinhenz was off duty and not in uniform when police were called to the 2400 block of Bolton Road near the Atlanta water reclamation plant Sunday. An investigation revealed there was a dispute between a ride-hailing driver and Kleinhenz, who was a passenger, and that he “inappropriately touched the driver during the incident,” authorities said in a news release.
According to an arrest warrant, the driver picked up Kleinhenz from a bar about 3 miles from where police responded. At some point during the drive, he is accused of rubbing the driver’s arm, touching her and calling her “sexy” as the driver asked him to stop, the warrant detailed.
The officer is then accused of grabbing the victim’s breast and holding onto her seatbelt, officials wrote in the warrant. Kleinhenz was sitting in the seat behind the driver, according to the warrant.
The driver eventually pulled into a gas station on Bolton Road, claiming she had to use the restroom, and alerted a security guard.
Kleinhenz was “extremely intoxicated and unable to give a statement” to officers about the situation, the warrant clarified.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
On the day he was booked into jail, Kleinhenz was also relieved of duty and Atlanta police opened an investigation. According to the department’s policy manual, “any supervisor may relieve an employee from duty with pay to prevent embarrassment, liability or discredit to the department.”
Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records revealed Kleinhenz became an investigator with Atlanta police in January 2002 and voluntarily resigned in January 2008. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reached out to the department for more information about the resignation.
In September 2009, Kleinhenz returned to the force as a peace officer. He was promoted to investigator in May 2014, to sergeant in November 2018 and to lieutenant in February 2024, POST records show.
— Senior editor Charles Minshew contributed to this article.
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