The Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners appointed veteran Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Captain Ty Rupert to the role of Interim Sheriff on July 29.
All five candidates for the position, which will run 18 months through the 2026 Election Cycle, were present for Tuesday’s vote of the Board, including James McLaughlin, Paul Kansky, Deron McMaster and Aaron Wells.
Before the vote, each commissioner spoke. Commissioner Phil Chang said the immediate need for interim sheriff is a leader that rank-and-file DCSO employees believe in and trust — someone to cast away “the dark cloud” the agency has been under “not just the last seven months, but years.
“With an election in 10 months, it’s important that the interim sheriff can create the conditions inside the sheriff’s office for us to have a fair and healthy election next year. We have not had healthy elections for many cycles at this point,” Chang said. “It will be important that people inside the [DCSO] are not punished for throwing their hat in the ring and saying they want to run.”
The interim sheriff should also stamp out any favoritism toward their preferred sheriff candidates in the 2026 election, he said.
“We need a sheriff who is going to help us enter a new era where we can have a sheriff election we’re proud of, not one we’re ashamed of,” Chang told the gathered DCSO employees, media and members of the public. “I hope all the candidates can keep these three things in mind.”
Commissioner Anthony DeBone cast his vote for Rupert; Patti Adair seconded it. Chang, the third commissioner, abstained from voting, expressing a guarded optimism that Rupert can steer the direction, yet he ceded a preference for McLaughlin, who topped the Deschutes County Sheriff Employee Association’s recommendation by a ranked vote. Rupert was the association’s second pick.
“I’m not opposed to appointing Captain Rupert,” Chang said. “If we want a leader [DCSO staff] can believe in, I think the association has spoken to who that is.”
Rupert will take an Oath of Office at the Deschutes County Courthouse on July 31 — the last day of outgoing Sheriff Kent van der Kamp’s brief tenure before resigning amid a scandal that stripped his police certifications for life. Rupert’s first official day as interim sheriff is Aug. 1. Rupert also told reporters that he intends to run for sheriff in the 2026 election next May.
In the July 7 letter of interest Rupert submitted to the BOCC, he wrote of his diverse work background lending unique qualifications for the role. His tenure as a U.S. Marine imbued him with a servant-leader mindset, he wrote, and his 15 years in the private sector at a Redmond manufacturing plant, where he eventually rose to vice president, honed his fiduciary sense. Rupert joined the DCSO as reserve duty in 2005, rising through the ranks to become Captain of the Detective and Special Services Divisions. Appropriate staffing, Rupert wrote, is critical to reducing overtime costs and mitigating deputy fatigue. Another key component to departmental well-being, Rupert told the Source after the appointment, is creating a work culture that is free of intimidation and retaliation.
“I’m excited for our future. My goal will be to mentor our office and hopefully foster a different culture, one of integrity and trust in the command level of management,” Rupert told reporters. “…Our staff is the greatest asset we have. And they’re the most expensive asset we have. So, they deserve for us to take care of them. I want to have a culture where they’re excited …proud to come to work at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.”
Asked about the status of the June 26 internal investigation van der Kamp launched into Captain William Bailey for critical comments he made about the outgoing sheriff while a guest on KNCP, a radio station in La Pine, Rupert said he cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.
Reached by phone, McLaughlin, a DCSO lieutenant, said that while he’s personally disappointed, he has trust in Rupert’s leadership. McLaughlin, too, said he intends to run for sheriff. The county will begin receiving candidacy filings on Sept. 11.
“I love Ty. I love him,” McLaughlin said. “So that’s always been the way, I think that there’s a mutual respect for both of us. …I believe that the [DCSO] employees look and say, ‘We have a path that we’re on… I feel like there is a sense of relief that we’re not turning 180 degrees away from the track we started on in January this year.’”
Paul Kansky, the Deputy Chief of the Bend Police Department who was also a candidate for interim sheriff, said by phone he was confident Rupert is the right person for the job.
“Ty is a fine man,” Kansky said. “We’ve crossed paths in a professional manner for years. The Bend PD, and me, personally, support [DCSO] as a department as they move forward in a positive direction.”
Also reached by phone, Commissioner Phil Chang said he’s confident Sheriff Rupert can affect the sea change — and earn the legacy — of having returned the vote for sheriff to the 162,000 voters in Deschutes County in elections to come.
“We [the BOCC] were very uncomfortable with the job of voting for the sheriff; that’s the job of the electorate,” Chang said. “I want them to make the decision next time.”
This article appears in Source Weekly July 24, 2025.
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