Officer Tyler Baehr alleged to have sexually explicit images on his phone from women he encountered on duty 

If you believe you may have been a victim in this case, contact the Sparks Police non-emergency number: 775-353-2231.

The U.S. attorney’s office is expected to issue a federal indictment against former Reno police officer Tyler Baehr in early 2025. Baehr is accused of obtaining sexually explicit photographs from the phones of individuals, at least one of whom he pulled over while on patrol. The exact number of potential victims is unclear, according to Sparks Senior Assistant City Attorney Mariah Northington, but there are “over 700” images in the investigative case file against Baehr.

“There are numerous nude and explicit images in this case file,” she said. “Several of those individuals are, to date, unidentified, and we do not want them to be identified via their naked pictures.”

The case became public when one of the alleged victims filed a lawsuit against both the City of Sparks and the City of Reno. She requested public records related to the case after being interviewed by Sparks police detectives in September. 

She was pulled over by Baehr on New Year’s Eve 2023. The City of Sparks declined to release information from the case file and denied her public records request. Reno also denied most of the requested records, except for a list of email subject lines.

Northington said all information in the case file must remain confidential, citing the difficulty of redacting sensitive details. “This protection is especially important given the nature of the allegations as well as the fact that there are intimate images and/or videos of potential witnesses and victims in this case file,” she argued in a court file.

Northington also said releasing the file could violate Baehr’s Sixth Amendment rights and jeopardize a potential conviction. “We do not want this to air publicly and chill the ability of other potential victims or witnesses to participate in this case, which everybody in this court would agree is at the very least embarrassing,” she said at a court hearing on Nov. 25. “We do not want to undermine any conviction about chilling the effects upon witnesses.”

Sparks police, Northington added, are still working to identify potential victims.

“I’m shocked how brazenly the government says that, ‘Oh, open and ongoing investigations are not subject to disclosure.’”

The attorney for the alleged victim, Luke Busby, said during the Nov. 25 court hearing that he would not object to reasonable redactions in the criminal file. He argued, however, that denying access to any information about the case violates the Nevada Public Records Act. (Disclosure: Busby also represents This Is Reno in public records cases. He did not provide information for this report.)

A Reno police spokesperson said Baehr was separated from service on Oct. 9.

“RPD has been committed to preserving the integrity of the ongoing investigation conducted both internally and by the Sparks Police Department,” said Officer Chris Johnson. “As this is an active investigation, we are unable  to release specific details to ensure the process remains impartial and thorough. Additionally, our internal affairs investigation is still ongoing and has not yet been completed. We are fully cooperating with the Sparks Police Department and will provide further information as appropriate once both investigations are concluded.”

The alleged victim in the case was contacted by Sparks police in September. 

“On September 4, 2024, two detectives from the Sparks Police Department visited [the alleged victim] at her parents’ home,” the woman’s lawsuit states. “During this visit, the detectives showed [her] multiple personal and intimate videos and images of [herself] that were stored on her personal phone that appeared to have been photographed from another device, and asked about the traffic stop on New Year’s Eve.”

The woman said she never gave the images to Baehr but instead handed him her phone because it had on it her legally required insurance information. 

Woman sues for records

The woman filed a lawsuit after both Reno and Sparks declined to provide records under the NPRA.

“On October 15, 2024, the City of Reno denied [the alleged victim’s] request for records,” her lawsuit states. ”The City of Reno argued that … combined interests—protecting an ongoing investigation, preserving the integrity of potential criminal proceedings, safeguarding privacy, and upholding constitutional rights—outweighed the public’s right to access the requested records under the NPRA.”

Busby disputed this position of both Sparks and Reno.

“I’m shocked how brazenly the government says that, ‘Oh, open and ongoing investigations are not subject to disclosure,’” he said. “That is not the law, and there is no law in the state of Nevada that says that. There is no law deeming these records to be confidential at wholesale. Targeted redactions are the rule.”

Deputy Reno City Attorney Mark Dunagan said the case file would be made public upon completion of the investigation. However, he has not released the complete case file against former Washoe County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Carry, the subject of a public records dispute between This Is Reno and the City of Reno.

There was no trial in Carry’s case, but Dunagan maintains Carry’s investigative file needs significant redactions, including the names of Carry’s two wives, who have already been publicly named. Carry was convicted of three felonies, including bigamy. He was released from prison in June.

This Is Reno sued the Reno Police Department for refusing to provide information in the Carry case. District Court Judge Kathleen Drakulich sided with the city—however, after review by the Nevada Supreme Court, the court remanded the case back to Drakulich because she did not review the records sought before deeming them confidential.

This Is Reno has not received all of the requested files in the case after suing in May 2021.