DA in central Oregon bans sheriff from testifying, alleging dishonesty

An unprecedented rift between Deschutes County’s top prosecutor and law enforcement agent burst into public view Monday as District Attorney Steve Gunnels placed Sheriff Kent van der Kamp on the sheet of distrusted officers known as a Brady list.

Gunnels’ decision, reported earlier by Oregon Public Broadcasting, means the district attorney in Bend considers van der Kamp so unreliable that he can’t be called to testify in court.

Gunnels told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday night that members of his office found discrepancies between information the sheriff provided in at least two driving under the influence of intoxicant cases.

“It was determined that he had been dishonest in his trial testimony and some of the information he provided,” Gunnels said. “We’re still trying to determine the scope and number of cases.”

The district attorney’s office began its review in November and is still going through several dozen cases between 2012 to 2018, when van der Kamp served as a Deschutes County deputy sheriff.

The cases that have been found involving “false testimony,” so far did not result in convictions, Gunnels told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

An assistant for the sheriff initially said he was “not physically in the office” and declined to comment, though by mid-afternoon van der Kamp had replied in a public letter, saying he was “deeply disappointed” in the DA’s ruling.

“While I respectfully dispute the decision, I understand the seriousness of the situation and its impact on the Sheriff’s Office and the public’s trust,” van der Kamp said, according to a statement from his office posted to Facebook.

The sheriff made no mention of resigning his post, instead saying he was committed to the job, and was consulting with his command staff and legal counsel.

“I ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this moment,” he said.

Van der Kamp took office in January after a hotly contested November race that included the then-sergeant suing OPB in a bid to keep his decades-old employment records secret.

The records came out anyway and showed that the La Mesa, California police department had concerns that van der Kamp had engaged in “serious incidents of misconduct” in the late 1990s, OPB reported.

While he prevailed at the ballot box, OPB reported in March that van der Kamp was under investigation by the state police certification board over his employment history.

Gunnels said he placed van der Kamp on the Brady List last Monday, and sent the sheriff’s attorney his office’s investigative report. He said he invited the sheriff to provide his office with any information that he would like to have considered.

He also provided the investigative report to the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, Gunnels said.

The certification agency has had a separate review underway of the sheriff since receiving a complaint against him in February, according to state records.

“Because it’s an open case, further information is exempt from disclosure,” said Department of Public Safety Standards and Training spokesperson Sam Tenney.

A spokesperson for the county was not immediately available to provide van der Kamp’s salary.

The “Brady” list refers to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling determining that criminal cases should be dismissed when a prosecutor fails to turn over evidence that would be helpful to a defense attorney, such as when a police officer has a known history of lying.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.

—Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn.

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