Sheriff Shane Nelson Makes Public Statement About Political Candidate, Fueling Election Tension

On Tuesday evening, Sheriff Shane Nelson posted a public statement on the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office’s official Facebook page that Nelson described as a response to “numerous emails and phone calls” he received in the last week requesting a formal statement about Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp’s current status at DCSO.

Vander Kamp is a longtime officer with DCSO, leads field operations for the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team and is running for sheriff against Capt. William Bailey, Nelson’s preferred successor.

Sheriff Shane Nelson Credit: Courtesy of Deschutes County Sheriff's Office

The statement recapped an ongoing internal investigation into Vander Kamp’s past as a part-time reserve officer in the mid-‘90s for the La Mesa Police Department in Southern California. Per public records, Vander Kamp did not list his employment at La Mesa on his DCSO application, and during his brief time with La Mesa an internal investigation found that he repeatedly claimed certification for operating a radar gun, but no such qualifications were found. The internal investigator recommended dismissal, according to personnel records.

In the statement, Nelson provided a link to the personnel records, wrote that the office would not consider employing an individual with similar allegations for a job at DCSO today, that there is “a possibility” that the “allegations of misconduct and dishonesty” against Vander Kamp from the La Mesa files could potentially lead to a loss of Vander Kamp’s law enforcement certifications by the state and reiterated that the internal investigation was not politically motivated.

The responses on Facebook to Nelson’s post rolled in quickly, amassing around 180 comments and dozens of shares within a day. A Reddit thread reposting Nelson’s statement had dozens more comments, too. While there were a few who voiced their support for Nelson’s message, the vast majority of comments were critical of the timing and supportive of Vander Kamp.

“This is not election interference,” Nelson wrote of the internal investigation into Vander Kamp. “Our office is fulfilling its legal obligation and duty to investigate complaints.” In response to the hundreds of comments on social media, Nelson said his stands behind his statement.

“I work for our citizens. They are my bosses, and when I get asked questions, I will answer them and ensure they have accurate information from our office’s standpoint before they make a decision,” Nelson wrote in an email to the Source Weekly on Thursday.

A citizen complaint in the spring tipped Nelson off to Vander Kamp’s prior employment at La Mesa PD and led to the investigation. Nelson has not disclosed who the citizen was, but Vander Kamp alleges it was Mandi Puckett, former executive director at CLEAR Alliance, a nonprofit where Vander Kamp is board president.

Earlier this week, Puckett filed a lawsuit against CLEAR for breach of contract and retaliation. According to Puckett’s lawyer, Vance Day, Puckett “blew the whistle” on “unlawful, unethical and dishonest conduct” by Vander Kamp and two other board members and signed a settlement agreement in November of last year. That settlement agreement is what she alleges has been breached and she is seeking $400,000 in damages.

Vander Kamp said that he has not reviewed the CLEAR lawsuit yet, but he called the timing of it “highly suspicious” and issued a statement in response to Nelson’s on Wednesday afternoon.

“Sheriff Nelson’s social media post and recent email appear to be a desperate last-minute attempt to sow doubt in the minds of Deschutes County voters, directly influencing the election in a way that is both unprofessional, unlawful and, in my opinion, the definition of election interference,” Vander Kamp wrote in his response.

Editor’s note: The headline on this story was changed from “political rival” to “political candidate” to reflect Kent Vander Camp’s position in this election as a candidate and clarify that Sheriff Shane Nelson is not running for reelection.

—This story is powered by the Lay It Out Foundation, the nonprofit with a mission of promoting deep reporting and investigative journalism in Central Oregon. Learn more and be part of this important work by visiting layitoutfoundation.org.

This article appears in Source Weekly October 31, 2024.