BEND, OR -- A candidate for Deschutes County Sheriff is trying to block the public release of 30-year-old employment records. Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp filed for a temporary restraining order Wednesday, after OPB submitted a public records request for the documents pertaining to his time at the La Mesa Police Department.

In the court filing, his attorney says the California judge who released the records to Deschutes County ordered they only be used for the agency’s internal investigation.

Vander Kamp has said his work in La Mesa was part of a college program and not relevant work history. He issued a statement early Thursday calling the attorney employed by the Sheriff's Office "unethical;" a claim he also made during a live debate on KBND. He went on to say he was "never approached to provide an explanation or sign any release forms regarding the situation in La Mesa recently." Although, the California judge found the release from Vander Kamp signed when he applied for a job at DCSO sufficient to order the La Mesa documents turned over to Deschutes County. 

Sgt. Vander Kamp continues to say he was "unaware of any disciplinary action during my time in La Mesa." He went on to say in the Thursday statement, "This is confirmed by the absence of any records or notices indicating disciplinary action." He says the investigation into his work in California is politically motivated.