An event honoring a fallen Kane County sheriff’s office police dog was not without controversy on Friday.
During the unveiling of a monument to K-9 officer Hudson, Sheriff Ron Hain responded to remarks by Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.
Irvin claimed earlier this summer that Kane County sheriff’s deputies interfered with Aurora police’s plan to arrest the suspect who was involved in a 2023 shootout with police that left the suspect and Hudson dead.
“In May, the city of Aurora mayor made comments about me and my office — but mostly about me — that were degrading and untruthful and reckless regarding this incident,” Hain said Friday.
James Moriarty, 38, of Aurora, and Hudson were both killed during a May 24, 2023, shooting on the Geneva-Batavia border.
But Irvin said undercover Aurora officers were outside Moriarty’s home the day before the deadly shooting and were waiting by his parked car to arrest him. Moriarty was a suspect in several crimes in Aurora.
“Unfortunately, this operation 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’ immediate explanation of what they were doing in the APD operation and why,” Irvin said during a city council meeting in May.
Irvin said at the time that Hain should apologize for “his careless and consequential directives that night.”
After Irvin made the remarks, Hain declined to comment when a reporter asked him about it in May.
But Hain didn’t hold back on Friday.
He said he tried for six years to have his office and the Aurora Police Department work together.
“That has fallen on deaf ears, and they refuse to work jointly with us,” he said. “And this is the outcome when you refuse to communicate.
“My only fear is that, going forward, more citizens could be hurt, more police officers, more deputies could be hurt,” Hain said.
He said what happened to Hudson is an example “of what happens when you don’t work together on a cohesive basis. So to that end, I’m very disappointed in that behavior of … their mayor and police administration.”
The Aurora Police Department responded in a statement that Hain’s remarks were “unfortunate and untrue.”
“The Aurora Police Department continues to maintain strong working relationships with all neighboring law enforcement agencies, including the Kane County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement reads.
On Friday afternoon, Irvin issued a written statement where he accused Hain of taking “every opportunity to bring the spotlight to himself, even during a ceremony reserved to commemorate the life of a brave canine officer.
“His statement today blaming the city of Aurora for the death of the canine officer were incredible and absolutely wrong, but indicative of the Ron Hain playbook,” Irvin said in the statement.
Irvin said Hain was correct about one thing.
“This unfortunate situation was due to the lack of communication, but not on our part. It was solely on Hain,” Irvin said.
Kane State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser, who was standing near the podium during Hain’s comments, declined his offer to make any comments following his remarks.
Her office later issued a statement distancing her from the sheriff’s comments.
“I respectfully disagree with the statements made by the Kane County sheriff at this morning’s ceremony,” the statement read. “I do not place blame on the Aurora Police Department or the mayor of Aurora for the events that transpired.”
While Mosser says she attended the ceremony to show support, she added that she was “unaware that such statements would be made.”
The statement said the shooting is still under investigation by the Major Crimes Task Force and is under review by Mosser’s office.