Aurora Mayor Blasts Sheriff Over Comments On Aurora Police

AURORA, IL — Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin called out the Kane County sheriff during Tuesday's City Council meeting for making what he called "untrue and unfavorable comments" about the Aurora Police Department.

Before going into the regular agenda, Irvin took for minutes to share a statement criticizing Sheriff Ron Hain, accusing him of compromising a May 2023 undercover police detail and his "misplaced and unsubstantiated conjecture, rumors and innuendo" about the investigation made in a May 24 Sun-Times article.

Titled "Did the Kane County sheriff's office blow chance to arrest a suspect hours before killing him?," the article details the events that led to Jim Moriarty, 38, being fatally shot by Kane County sheriff's police. A vehicle pursuit, which started as a carjacking in Aurora, ensued from South Elgin to Batavia before the suspect and a K-9 were killed, Patch reported.

The Kane County Sheriff's Office released a statement almost a week after the incident, saying deputies saw a gun before shooting the suspect.

Officials alleged Moriarty stole a Honda Accord earlier in the day in Aurora before he was pursued and forced to stop at the intersection of Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway on the border of Geneva and Batavia. Deputies sent a K-9 named Hudson toward Moriarty in an effort to "subdue him," but when they saw a weapon in his hand as he turned toward police, they fired multiple shots at him, according to the sheriff's office.

RELATED: Deputies Saw Gun Before Shooting Suspect: Kane County Sheriff, Mosser

In the days before the shooting, Moriarty spoke of plans to get police to kill him as a "suicide by cop," the Sun-Times reported.

A year later, an investigation into police's use of force remains ongoing. Irvin said Tuesday he wasn't commenting on the investigation itself but instead, as mayor, "cannot allow comments attributed to Sheriff Ron Hain in the article go unanswered."

The Sun-Times article reports Aurora police were conducting an undercover operation on May 23, 2023, outside of Moriarty's residence on the west side of Aurora. While officers waited to arrest the man outside his parked car, the detail was "compromised when the sheriff's deputies, acting under the direct orders of Sheriff Hain himself, appeared on the scene and seized Moriarty's vehicle, despite our officers immediately and explaining what they were doing in the APD operation and why," Irvin said.

Hain called Aurora police "reactive" for "sitting on [Mortiary's car]."

"That type of police work is baiting someone to get into a pursuit," Hain told the Sun-Times. "I would say they escalated things. ... Get a warrant, and go in to the apartment. ... Grab the guy."

Irvin called out Hain's comment, saying, "I absolutely disagree with Sheriff Hain. There is nothing 'reactive' about trying to arrest a suspect using a coordinated effort with the least amount of force and exposing the subject, and our officers, to the least amount of danger possible. Not only is that good police work, it saves lives."

His statement continued:

The events that followed in the next 24 hours were unfortunate and likely preventable if Sheriff Hain himself, who was not on the scene himself, had let our officers do their jobs. Our officers would have accepted any help he would have offered and could have provided, but partnership was apparently not on Sheriff Hain’s mind. Why a county sheriff would interject himself into a municipal police operation baffles me. Although the sheriff’s office has countywide jurisdiction, common sense should have dictated he let our officers handle the operation that was already in progress inside the City of Aurora corporate limits where Aurora Police have ultimate jurisdiction.

Just as Sheriff Hain apologized for his actions in the wake of what followed, he should apologize for his careless and consequential directives that night and his continued attack on the Aurora Police Department a year later. The mistake that caused the unfortunate loss life was his and his alone, and he ought to accept responsibility for it, instead of interjecting misplaced and unsubstantiated conjecture, rumors and innuendo.

Moreover, if the Sheriff is so concerned about proactive strategies, he should stand down while this investigation is still ongoing and let law enforcement professionals do their jobs.