How an ethics investigation led to a packed sheriff’s race in Klamath County

It was a public dispute between the sheriff and the county commissioners late last year that led to a flood of candidates in the race for Klamath County sheriff.

“I think everybody’s tired,” said Daren Krag, one of the candidates running. “All of the negative news reports about our office and the embarrassment that’s been brought to our deputies.”

Krag runs the marine division at the sheriff’s office, where he’s worked for 19 years. He unsuccessfully ran against current Sheriff Chris Kaber in 2020. Krag said he’s the only candidate who has been brave enough to speak out against the controversy under Sheriff Kaber since he’s taken office.

“Truthfully, I think there are a number of people who filed to run because they’re terrified that I am going to be successful, and that their type of behavior will not be tolerated or acceptable, and there will be no place for it,” he said.

Krag says he’s seen acts of nepotism by the sheriff when dealing with his two sons who also work in the department.

Those issues culminated late last year in an investigation over the re-assignment of Chris Kaber’s son Ryan to a position without opening the job to other applicants.

As a result, the county commissioners revoked an agreement they made that allowed the three Kaber family members to work together, and threatened to fire his two sons.

The Kabers defend

Now, sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Kaber is also running for sheriff. He believes the complaints and the ensuing scandal are politically motivated by fellow candidates and others to tarnish the reputation of the office.

“The sheriff’s office has been painted into a light to the public as though they’re de-legitimized, they’re unable to provide the services or that somehow, it’s the sheriff’s office’s fault,” he said.

Ryan Kaber has worked at the sheriff’s department since 2008. When asked what the biggest issue is there, he said it’s the ongoing fight for the department’s independence from the rest of the county. He said the sheriff’s office has given too much authority to the county commissioners.

“In the interest of going along to get along, the intermingling between the Board of County Commissioners and the sheriff’s office has brought us to this point,” he said. “It’s reached a breaking point.”

Ryan Kaber argues that county commissioners should have no say in the employees at the sheriff’s department. And, agreeing in 2018 to follow the county’s policies to avoid a conflict of interest between the sheriff and his sons was a mistake.

Kaber is currently on paid leave from the sheriff’s office. He hasn’t been working since late June of 2023, when he was placed on leave for an incident involving his police dog Blitz biting a suspect during a chase. The incident was reported to county commissioners by his current opponent Krag, who then turned over the investigation to the Oregon Department of Justice.

Kaber said his attorney was told the investigation was completed and under some form of review last December, but efforts to get the DOJ to conclude the investigation or send it back to the county district attorney’s office have been rejected.

“I believe it’s a little unjust at this point, it shouldn’t take this long. And the DOJ needs to return it,” Kaber said.

Ryan Kaber has also separately threatened to sue the county for being denied the chance for a promotion last year. He was told that county officials determined that he wouldn’t be eligible for promotion to a lieutenant position because it would require too much direct supervision by the sheriff, and violate ethics laws.

“We tried to get the county to communicate, they would not respond to emails, they refused mediation, they wouldn’t meet in person,” he said. “And we found the one thing that they would respond to, and it’s a language, frankly, that I don’t even want to become fluent and having to speak, and that is the language of lawsuits.”

Kaber did not say whether he would move forward with a lawsuit after the election.

Ryan Kaber and his father Sheriff Chris Kaber are supported by Klamath County Jail Commander Billy Stripling, who is also running. Stripling says he gets along well with the sheriff and thinks there are just a few issues wrong with the office and he’s the best person to fix them.

“We got a bunch of people that say they have the sheriff’s office in the forefront of their mind, and they really care about the sheriff’s office, but all they talk about is negativity,” Stripling said.

He says he wants to focus on the issues, including stable funding for law enforcement. Stripling says a lack of funding and a reliance on money from the county commissioners is contributing to a staffing shortage at the sheriff’s office.

“We need to earmark money that is specifically for the sheriff’s office that the county commissioners don’t control,” Stripling said. “Until we do that, nothing’s going to change.”

Outsider candidates

Two other candidates come from outside the sheriff’s office, and believe a fresh view is what’s needed right now. Sean Ferns was a sheriff’s deputy until 2011 when he moved to the Klamath Falls Police Department before retiring last year.

“I’m not part of the problem that’s going on,” Ferns said. “Anyone and everyone that is running, I believe they have an agenda for themselves. And I don’t, because I’m coming from the outside in. I have nothing to gain, I have nothing to lose.”

On concerns about the sheriff’s supervision of his own family, Ferns said the sheriff’s office should act more like a family, but one without favoritism.

“When you’re putting your life on the line and you’re needing to rely on somebody to do something, otherwise somebody can get seriously hurt or killed, it’s got to be a family, because we’re all part of the blue,” he said.

Ferns said he was motivated to run by the encouragement of county commissioners (who he declined to name), judges and community members.

Three other candidates, Mike Shepherd, Brian Bryson and Shane Mitchell, did not respond to requests for interviews.

Ballots will begin heading to voters this month and are due on May 21. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, the top two will advance to the general election in November. That’s a likely scenario, said Krag, because of the number of individuals running.

There are people running who believe the Klamath County sheriff’s office is fine and needs to rebuild trust, those who think the current leadership needs to be replaced, and those who want to see someone from the outside take over. The outcome of this election could result in very different visions for the future of the office.