Deschutes County Sheriff Resigns, Effective July 31

Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp resigned from his position on Monday morning, following months of scrutiny for accusations of dishonesty.

Around 8:20am on June 23, van der Kamp sent an email to Deschutes County, stating his resignation from the Office of Sheriff, effective July 31. According to an email from Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennsion, the resignation will be binding as of June 26 at 5pm.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Deschutes County. I look forward to working with the county and office to make a smooth transition,” van der Kamp wrote in his email to the County.

In April, van der Kamp announced that Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnells placed him on the Brady List – a list of allegedly dishonest police officers banned from giving future testimony in Deschutes County Circuit Court cases. In van der Kamp’s case, that came after he allegedly gave false testimony in more than one criminal case before becoming sheriff.

In May, the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Board staff found that van der Kamp falsified documents about being terminated from a California police department in the 1990s, and misrepresented his higher education under oath while testifying in Deschutes County, according to reporting from OPB.

Following the news of his resignation, van der Kamp told the Source that his duties as sheriff continue through his last official day, which is July 31.

“I remain committed to the office and will be working closely with my command team to ensure a smooth and responsible transition. At this time, I’m focused on completing several key projects and supporting our team as we move through this transition phase,” he wrote in a message to the Source.

Van der Kamp says he will not be releasing any details about his retirement plans as of today.

In May, a state police policy committee voted unanimously to recommend a lifetime revocation of van der Kamp’s certifications to the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training board – the state’s law enforcement regulatory entity. The board was set to review and vote on whether to take the committee’s recommendation on July 27.

Previous reporting from the Source found that if the DPSST board adopts the committee’s recommendation to permanently revoke van der Kamp’s certification, the sheriff would have the option to contest the decision before a judge. Stripping a police certification would mean that van der Kamp would not be able to perform the duties of a police officer in Oregon, DPSST Communications Coordinator Sam Tenney told the Source in May.

Before van der Kamp resigned, a volunteer committee announced its effort to recall van der Kamp in a press release, sent out at 8am. Van der Kamp sent his resignation email at about 8:20am. According to the group, van der Kamp has “ignored calls to resign immediately from the Deschutes County Sheriffs Employee Association, elected leaders, former campaign supporters, and community members.”

The group plans to formally file for the recall of van der Kamp on July 7 with the Deschutes County Clerk, and plans to gather signatures leading up to that date, with a goal of collecting 20,000 signatures in less than 90 days.

“We are community members who believe voters should have an opportunity to recall Kent van der Kamp as Sheriff on the grounds of dishonesty, abuse of authority, and misconduct,” the group wrote in a Monday morning press release.

“Until Kent van der Kamp is officially out of the office of Deschutes County Sheriff, on his own accord or official process, the recall effort will move forward. Voters elected Kent van der Kamp, voters can remove him from the office of Sheriff through a recall election.”

According to County Clerk Steve Dennsion, if everything remains unchanged, van der Kamp could still be subject to any potential recalls, if the group wanted to proceed.

After van der Kamp’s July 31 resignation date, it would be up to the Board of County Commissioners to appoint a replacement for the duration of this part of his term, Dennison told the Source on Monday.

The sheriff position would then be placed on the next election cycle’s ballot. In this case, it would be on the May 2026 ballot initially and the sheriff would be elected in November 2026. The county commission could appoint anybody with the right qualifications, Dennison added, given they meet certain age and residency requirements.

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to provide clarity around the timeline and ongoing plans of a formal recall effort against van der Kamp.

This article appears in Source Weekly June 19, 2025.