After comfortable election wins, problems still dog Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff Ty Rupert shed the “interim” sheriff label by handily winning the November election, but some issues that have long dogged the department remain. Rupert was first appointed to the job by county commissioners in July 2025. In his first time going before voters, he secured roughly 68.5% of the unofficial, incomplete vote tally. That means he’s in line to secure a four-year term as top county law enforcement official until 2031 and provide some consistency to an office that has seen plenty of recent turmoil. Rupert knows, however, that a lack of trust still exists between the public and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. “I have a lot of work to do to move forward, and hopefully prove to (voters) over the next four years that I have made that culture shift to where we can look at me and go: ‘You know what, we do trust that sheriff,” said Rupert. “Because to me it’s very sad to me that we’re in this position, but I don’t blame (the public). I don’t.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.