The Machinations Continue with Sheriff-Elect's Effort to Recoup Legal Fees

We thought we were getting a shot at a corruption-free and drama-free Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office when we advocated for voters to select Kent Vander Kamp as the next sheriff. And while it may still be true that Vander Kamp is in the best position to change the culture at the office, which has been plagued by lawsuits and personnel complaints under Sheriff Shane Nelson, it’s beginning to be clear that this, too, could very well be another litigious era in the history of the office.

Last week, Vander Kamp’s attorney was in (virtual) court here in Deschutes County, asking a judge to rule that the county should cover the legal fees Vander Kamp mounted in an effort to block the release of employment records from his time at the La Mesa Police Department in the late ’90s. In that suit, Vander Kamp named Oregon Public Broadcasting, which along with the county sought release of those records. Now, Vander Kamp hopes to get local taxpayers to foot the bill for an effort that quickly became moot — because just days after, Vander Kamp’s own attorney released those records through live links in court documents. The Source Weekly obtained those records and reported on what was in them: largely, details of the foibles of a young cop who was accused of an improper traffic stop and improper use of a radar gun… hardly anything rising to the level of corruption we’ve seen here with Sheriff Nelson.

So to recap: We have a sheriff’s candidate restraining the local press (he later dropped that temporary restraining order) and suing the very county where he’ll soon be sheriff to help him pay bills he racked up fighting the release of records — records his own team then released anyway.

Vander Kamp now finds himself with large legal bills that he wants taxpayers to cover. In court last week, County Counsel David Doyle even pointed out the absurdity of defending the county against Vander Kamp, when in a few short weeks Vander Kamp will be Doyle’s client.

What a mess.

The voters of Deschutes County, in the last election, voted resoundingly in favor of a less-litigious sheriff’s office. Needless to say, with this ongoing matter still yet to be decided by a judge, it’s not going well.

While Vander Kamp prepares to take office and mops up the matter of the legal fees he mounted, he should be reminded of the significance of his office — the need for transparency and earnest effort, and the desire from voters to turn the page on the corrupt era of the past. Oh, and a little more respect for the freedom of the press would be welcome, too.

–Editor’s note: Our print edition stated the records were released on Vander Kamp’s website, and that Vander Kamp’s attorney was based in California. Those statements were incorrect. We have also removed a section in the fifth paragraph that speculated on Vander Kamp’s hiring of a private attorney rather than county counsel. We regret the errors.

This article appears in Source Weekly December 12, 2024.

And this is exactly why The Source should never endorse candidates but just stick to reporting the facts and presenting interviews of all sides for readers to make up their own decisions. This is the problem with media, today there is no direct reporting without biases.