News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The intensity level of the race for Deschutes County Sheriff ratcheted up last week, as candidate Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp filed a tort claim notice — notice of a potential lawsuit — against the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office administration, alleging ongoing targeting, harassment, and election interference.
Sgt. Vander Kamp, who serves on the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE), is running against Captain William Bailey, the candidate endorsed by retiring Sheriff Shane Nelson. Bailey has served in a variety of capacities with DCSO, including acting as the interim leader of the Sisters contingent of deputies after the City of Sisters enhanced its law enforcement contract agreement with DCSO. He is currently Patrol Division commander.
The election will be decided on November 5.
Nelson recently named Captain Paul Garrison Undersheriff to handle election-related matters in the office. Garrison told The Nugget his efforts will be directed at keeping DCSO on mission, despite the potential turmoil represented by an election contested by two internal candidates.
The Sheriff’s Office has been hit in recent months with tort claim notices from three employees: Sgt. Jeremiah Minton, Sgt. James McLaughlin, and Deputy Matthew Palmer. The tort claims from Minton and McLaughlin accuse department leaders of discriminating against employees if they support Vander Kamp instead of Bailey. Sheriff Nelson disputes the allegations.
Vander Kamp’s tort claim notice alleges actions he believes are calculated to undermine his candidacy and suppress support, and an alleged action that could have compromised security.
According to the tort claim notice, “Bend Police Department Michael P. Landolt told Vander Kamp that Landolt heard through DCSO Captain Paul B. Garrison that Nelson did not want Vander Kamp writing the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) press releases anymore. Vander Kamp believes this was to prevent Vander Kamp from interacting with the public in order to reduce Vander Kamp’s exposure to voters and thereby harming Vander Kamp’s campaign for Sheriff.”
Several allegations center around perceived efforts to limit employees’ free speech. Vander Kamp cites an alleged order that supervisors not read or discuss the content of the DCSO Follies Facebook page. That page, which is described as “satire,” is highly critical of the DCSO administration, including Captain Bailey.
On August 26, Sheriff Nelson approved a new policy on “Speech and Expression,” which Vander Kamp alleges “discusses limitations and restrictions on DCSO members’ speech and constitutionally protected rights.”
DCSO public information officer Sgt. Jason Wall provided The Nugget with a copy of this policy, but noted that, “The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office advises while this policy has been published, it is under review on the basis of needed clarifications suggested by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Employee Association.”
In a separate email, Wall stated on behalf of Undersheriff Garrison that, “The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office does not agree with contents of the recent Tort Claim Notice filed on behalf of Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp and is prepared to defend its position if necessary.”
The tort claim notice also addresses an internal affairs investigation launched on the concern that Vander Kamp did not disclose a part-time, unpaid position he held in the 1990s in the city of La Mesa, California. Vander Kamp has stated that the position was a volunteer reserve police position in which he directed traffic, and wasn’t really law enforcement work.
Sheriff Nelson made a public records request of the La Mesa Police Department, which provided a record confirming that Vander Kamp had served in a reserve capacity in 1995-97. Sheriff Nelson then filed a lawsuit against the city of La Mesa to compel release of further records that the city says it does not have.
Vander Kamp alleges that DCSO scheduled an Internal Affairs Investigation interview on the matter on a day Vander Kamp is not scheduled to work, and when he has campaign events scheduled.
One allegation raises issues of safety and security of law enforcement personnel.
According to Vander Kamp’s tort claim notice, “Between January 2024 and February 2024, on information and belief, Bailey and Bailey’s friend Derek Jones using a pseudonym ‘Carlos Esparza,’ created a fake Facebook profile and began releasing the location of the CODE team and Vander Kamp’s office. This created a dangerous situation for the covert law enforcement operation and its staff, including Vander Kamp.”
The Nugget asked Vander Kamp if he could substantiate this claim, and he responded that “screen shots are out there,” and that there is a video of Jones being confronted over the page. The page has reportedly since been removed. Vander Kamp told The Nugget that he does not know the purpose of the alleged action.
“It made many people uncomfortable,” he said.
The Nugget reached out to Captain Bailey for comment on this allegation and he responded with a written statement:
“I do not have a Facebook profile under the name Carlos Espanza (sic), or any other fake Facebook profile. I have never disclosed, on Facebook or otherwise, the location of the CODE office, or Kent Vander Kamp’s office. While my opponent threatens to sue a vital public safety organization for money, I am focused on improving public safety by eliminating unsanctioned homeless camping on public lands and combating the plague of illegal drugs. I believe that is what the residents of Deschutes County expect from their next Sheriff.”
Vander Kamp told The Nugget that he filed the tort claim notice to protect his rights and to quell what he characterized as “aggressive behavior” on the part of the DCSO administration.
“The clock was ticking, and the hope was, honestly, that it would change some of the aggressive behavior,” he said.
Asked if he intended to file a lawsuit before the election, the candidate said, “my goal is not to file a lawsuit.” He said that he does not want to cost taxpayers money on such a legal process.
“That’s what I’m running against,” he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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