Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp will not say whether he plans to resign — not for 90 days.

Van der Kamp said he didn’t want to make any “rash decisions” following the release of a report by the district attorney’s office that says van der Kamp lied under oath about his educational history on at least three separate occasions. 

If van der Kamp resigns, the Deschutes County Commission would appoint an interim sheriff and voters would be able to make a new decision during the 2026 election cycle.

“We have a bunch of open projects to do. I have as much support, if not more support, inside and outside to complete what I came here to do,” van der Kamp told The Bulletin Wednesday. “A lot of my co-workers are counting on me to make the changes that I said I would (and) voters are equally anxious for me to finish the projects that we started. But I definitely don’t want to take away from the work this office is doing.” 

Additionally, van der Kamp said that over the next several weeks, discussion with the county’s legal department, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office and the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training will add more clarity to the situation.

Prior to releasing the report detailing van der Kamp’s dishonesty under oath, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels placed the sheriff on a list of law enforcement officers deemed too untrustworthy to testify in court, a so-called Brady list. Separately, the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training is investigating van der Kamp to determine whether he violated the state agency’s moral fitness standards by lying about his past experience with the La Mesa Police Department in La Mesa, California. If van der Kamp is found in violation, his law enforcement credentials could be revoked.

In the past five years, 101 Oregon officers have had their law enforcement credentials revoked or denied on the basis of dishonesty, according to a database maintained by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. In the majority of those cases, the revocation came as part of a termination with only one other officer having had their credentials revoked as the result of a complaint, such as the one submitted against van der Kamp.

While van der Kamp says he has received more than 100 letters and emails of support since the district attorney’s report was released, there have already been calls for him to resign, including from the satire website DCSO Follies, which was supportive of van der Kamp during the election in 2024. 

Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler likewise believes that van der Kamp is no longer fit to be sheriff.

“As a former prosecutor, I know that any decision by a District Attorney to place a law enforcement officer on the Brady list is not taken lightly,” Kelber said in an email. “It is a strong signal about that officer’s credibility. The office of Sheriff demands honesty, integrity, and transparency. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Sheriff van der Kamp can repair this break in public trust.”

When asked what his position is, Gunnels said his office is more concerned with determining how far-reaching van der Kamp’s dishonesty is. 

“Once I’ve made my finding, the process that we’re required to follow regarding the sheriff is essentially complete, unless new information comes to light that affects my decision in some way. As a duly elected public official, how the sheriff responds is up to him. We are now focused on identifying affected criminal cases and determining next steps.”

Throughout all of this, van der Kamp has never denied mistakes were made but he hopes the public finds it possible to move past this.

“I hardly compare myself to an embezzling sheriff,” he said, an apparent reference to disgraced former sheriff Greg Brown, who was imprisoned for embezzling money from the sheriff’s office. ““Because I step back and I look at the mandate that I had to come in here. I’ve never forgotten that mandate and I’ve always focused on positive change to restore that trust and improve the morale at the office and enhance the effectiveness of our office. Heck, in the last few months we’ve made historic progress,” van der Kamp said.