‘He’s a goner’: Deschutes County voters react after release of Sheriff Kent van der Kamp court recordings

(Update: Adding video, comments from voters)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp submitted documents and falsely testified on the witness stand several times about his educational background, claiming to have degrees from two universities he never attended, District Attorney Steve Gunnels said in a detailed report released to KTVZ News on Friday.

Gunnels issued the 34-page investigative report and provided KTVZ News with audio recordings of expert witness testimony less than two weeks after placing van der Kamp on the "Brady list," a list kept by county prosecutors of law enforcement officers who have been judged untrustworthy due to past testimony and won't be allowed to testify in future cases.

“Sheriff Vander Kamp, while serving as an expert witness in DUII prosecutions, testified falsely about his educational background, including while under oath. This misrepresentation directly compromised his reliability as an expert in multiple cases,” Gunnels wrote.

Gunnels explained that while van der Kamp's 2024 Voters Pamphlet educational background was accurate, a prosecutor in his office advised in November that "there may be material discrepancies" between that information and what he testified to in criminal trials.

Bend resident Virlene Arnold said Monday the sheriff will need to gain back the county voters' trust: "We live in a climate where we're becoming so distrustful of all our authorities that it's really incumbent upon him to prove himself to us. "

Robert Sandberg, another Bend voter, had a more blunt view of the recent revelations: "He's a goner. I'm sorry, but you can't lie on stuff like that."

One focus was on a resume-like document known as a CV in which van der Kamp claimed to have received degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona.

Gunnels said he was told by van der Kamp's attorney last Nov. 12 that the curriculum vitae he submitted in a 2013 trial was prepared by someone other than van der Kamp, and that "he failed to read it thoroughly" before providing it to Oregon State Police or testifying at trial.

But the DA said the same schools and degrees were listed in previous CVs, and wrote that "our investigation established that (he) was never enrolled as a student at these universities, nor did he receive any degrees from these universities." The report included responses from both schools, confirming that he had never been a student at either.

The report also included transcripts in which van der Kamp testified as to attending those schools while on the witness stand, but that he never provided degrees from either school.

"After a comprehensive investigation by our office, it was determined that Sheriff van der Kamp failed to adhere to ethical and legal standards required by law enforcement officers," Gunnels wrote.

Here is the full investigative report, released to KTVZ News by District Attorney Steve Gunnels, along with audio recordings of testimony referred to in his report, also provided to us by the district attorney in response to a public records request.