For the second time in as many elections, a candidate for sheriff in Central Oregon’s largest county is facing allegations of dishonesty — and possibly termination — unless he wins the election and takes office first.

Lt. James “Mac” McLaughlin, a 20-year veteran of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and candidate for sheriff on the November ballot, has been the subject of an independent internal investigation for most of his campaign. The agency hired an outside investigator in May to probe complaints that McLaughlin tried to cover up his own and other officers’ misconduct related to a SWAT team arrest.

The independent investigator, named Jim Band, sustained five allegations against McLaughlin last month, including dishonesty, misconduct, lack of integrity and insubordination. These charges led the lieutenant’s bosses to recommend his firing, according to records recently released to OPB by the county through a public records request.

A sustained finding of dishonesty means mandatory termination, according to Oregon law enforcement statutes referenced in a letter to McLaughlin from the DCSO command team.

But with the election just about six weeks away, voters may decide McLaughlin’s future in law enforcement before his employer’s process plays out.

That’s because McLaughlin went on medical leave earlier this month, putting any discipline on hold until he returns to work. If he’s elected and takes office, he’d assume the sweeping power held by elected sheriffs across the country, who have broad discretion to run the agencies they oversee with little interference from outside authorities.

Oregon’s public records law allows law enforcement agencies to withhold ongoing employee investigation records in some circumstances. But OPB argued that the public interest outweighs privacy concerns in this instance because of McLaughlin’s imminent bid for elected office. OPB received more than 85 pages of documents on Friday after the Deschutes County District Attorney, who mediates such disputes under Oregon law, weighed in.

McLaughlin’s attorney, Randy J. Harvey, told OPB this week he had not seen records of the investigation or its initial findings. He said the charges against his client have “been blown way out of proportion” and are politically motivated because McLaughlin is running against the current interim sheriff, Ty Rupert.

“This is exactly what Ty Rupert wants the public to think about Lt. McLaughlin,” Harvey said, calling it a smear campaign “through the guise of an investigation.”

Rupert declined to answer questions outside of an emailed statement.

“Due process in this personnel matter is still underway,” the interim sheriff wrote to OPB. “To protect the integrity and fairness of that process, I cannot comment on the investigation, its findings, recommendations, or any potential disciplinary decision at this time.”

Allegations of dishonesty being dismissed as political retaliation have shaped Deschutes County Sheriff’s races before, leading to high rates of voter apathy, state investigations and the previous elected sheriff’s resignation. Both Rupert and McLaughlin have promised to restore trust and refocus the agency on public safety, rather than a streak of highly-public internal conflicts. But earlier this month, a city councilor in Redmond sent a complaint to a state watchdog agency urging it to investigate agency leaders for “an unchecked, systemic culture of corruption,” name-checking both candidates for sheriff in the allegations.

Rupert previously told OPB that he decided to hire the outside investigator, Band, to “ensure full transparency and accountability” in handling a citizen’s complaint about McLaughlin.

Security camera video leads to complaint

The complaint stems from a Feb. 25 arrest in Bend of a man wanted for using stolen construction company credentials to charge roughly $700.

According to documents obtained by OPB, the man was staying with a friend, and McLaughlin showed up at the residence with a SWAT team to make the arrest. The home’s security cameras recorded McLaughlin and another officer talking about how to trump up unfounded burglary charges.

In the footage, McLaughlin is heard chuckling and telling another officer, “That’s not bad dude, that’s creative. Your vindictivism [sic] knows no bounds. I love it.”

McLaughlin knew the home’s owner from church events, and the woman texted McLaughlin the security camera footage that recorded the conversation a few days after the incident. In a series of text messages over months, she complained to McLaughlin about his behavior and the behavior of the deputy he was talking with on the porch and asked him to do something about it.

But McLaughlin did not report his involvement in the incident, or tell his bosses that he had a copy of the video during a sheriff’s office meeting about it, Band found, according to the documents provided to OPB.

“Lt. McLaughlin omitted material facts and information,” Band wrote, calling McLaughlin’s statements in the meeting “incomplete” and “misleading.”

McLaughlin denied that characterization in an interview with the investigator. He said he did not realize the text exchange with the woman included the video until nearly two months later – after she escalated her concerns through more formal channels.

“I thought it might’ve been just a snapshot,” McLaughlin is quoted as saying during the interview with Band. “It’s not till much later that I even went, ‘Oh, that’s a video,’ and listened to it.”

The sheriff’s office has not yet released to OPB a full transcript of this interview, or complete records from the investigation.

Harvey, McLaughlin’s attorney, said that his client plans to release his own transcript of his interview with Band on his campaign website this week.

“I sat through that three-hour interview,” Harvey said, “and nothing of what Mr. Band is reporting here was supported.”

Harvey said that he plans to file a federal lawsuit against the county for releasing McLaughlin’s investigatory records that will allege violations of his 1st and 14th Amendment constitutional rights.

Band’s investigation did not find any footage or evidence to support an earlier claim that an officer had pushed a gun into the suspect’s back. The investigator also looked into criticism about whether it was appropriate to deploy SWAT over a $700 theft. He found that the use of force was justified because the suspect was implicated in more serious crimes, based on Band’s interview with the man in jail, and evidence provided by other officers and informants.

County records show the sheriff’s office gave McLaughlin a notice detailing the charges against him on Sept. 3. McLaughlin went on federally-protected family medical leave from his job the same day, a Deschutes County spokesperson said.

The county can’t proceed with required due process hearings, or discipline McLaughlin, while he’s on leave, according to its legal department.

Harvey said his client’s leave is related to medical issues, and that it started before Sept. 3.

“Mr. McLaughlin has a medical reason for being on leave that his doctor has, in his own expertise, come to the conclusion is necessary,” Harvey said.

A repeat scenario

The rancor in this race for sheriff echoes the drama of the last election, when nearly a quarter of Deschutes County voters declined to vote for anyone for sheriff.

In the 2024 election cycle, Harvey represented a different then-candidate — Kent van der Kamp.

Van der Kamp also ran on promises of reforming an office that had cost the county millions in employee payouts over allegations of retaliation and discrimination.

He too faced an internal investigation alleging dishonesty during his campaign. And van der Kamp also went on protected medical leave while dismissing the investigation as politically motivated.

Shortly before the election, van der Kamp sued the county and OPB to try and stop the release of records showing he was dishonest about being fired from a California police department early in his law enforcement career. A judge called his legal complaint meritless.

Van der Kamp went on to win the sheriff’s race by a wide margin, only to face sanctions by local prosecutors and state discipline stemming from decades of serial dishonesty about his background and education. He resigned amid controversy less than a year into his term. This year, the court ordered him to pay back OPB’s legal fees over the public records fight.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/22/deschutes-county-election-sheriff-candidate-mclaughlin-dishonesty-allegations/