Sheriff ’s deputy placed on leave amid allegation

The McHenry County sheriff’s office has placed a deputy on administrative leave while an outside agency investigates an allegation of inappropriate use of force during the arrest last month of four alleged lawn mower thieves outside of Woodstock.

In a statement, the sheriff ’s office said the unidentified deputy had been assisting Woodstock police during the June 17 arrest of four people. Woodstock police Chief John Lieb said they were suspects in the theft of two riding lawn mowers and a trailer from a Blaine’s Farm and Fleet.

Lieb would not detail the allegation against the deputy, but on June 25, his department sent a video of the arrests to the sheriff’s office.

“Upon review of the footage, the sheriff’s office conferred with the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office and it was determined that sufficient evidence existed warranting a criminal investigation into the deputy’s actions,” the sheriff ’s office said in its statement. “An outside law enforcement entity was contacted to conduct the investigation, so as to remove any potential appearance of impropriety.”

The deputy was stripped of police powers and placed on paid administrative leave, the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the sheriff ’s department did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The four suspects in the lawn mower theft are still in custody at the McHenry County Jail, according to an online jail census.

The Tribune has made a public records request for the video.