McHenry County deputies shot a man in Harvard five days ago, details about what happened remain scarce

Five days after McHenry County sheriff’s deputies shot an armed man during a well-being check in Harvard, details about what happened last Friday night remain scarce.

The McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team is investigating the shooting, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said Wednesday but declined to comment further.

The sheriff’s office also declined to provide any additional details – including whether the man who was shot is still alive – beyond a four-paragraph news release the agency released on Saturday, 19 hours after it happened.

According to the the sheriff’s office release from Saturday afternoon, deputies were dispatched about 8 p.m. Friday to the 19900 block of Streit Road. When police arrived, the man came out of the residence with a firearm and “an armed confrontation occurred,” according to the release. Police have not confirmed whether the man lived at the address where he was shot.

“The deputies discharged their firearms, ultimately striking the subject. No deputies were injured during the confrontation,” according to the release.

The man deputies shot was taken by the Harvard Fire Protection District to Mercy Harvard Hospital and then flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford in critical condition, the agency said in the statement.

Since then, the sheriff’s office has declined to respond to questions about the man’s condition, how many officers were involved in the shooting, whether the deputies involved remain on active duty, how many times the man was shot or what circumstances led to police being called to the home.

In response to inquiries, the Illinois State Police directed the Northwest Herald’s questions to the McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team. A Lake in the Hills police sergeant working with MIAT, to whom state police directed questions, was not working on Wednesday, the department said.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office cannot release further information about the case because it is the agency under investigation, spokeswoman Emily Matusek said Wednesday evening.

Matusek declined to provide the names of anyone involved with MIAT – which does not have a known public website or listed phone number – who is working on the case. MIAT does not provide updates until an investigation is complete, she said.

The McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team also was the agency that handled a January incident in which two McHenry County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a man in Port Barrington.

In that case, the sheriff’s office released a four-paragraph statement on MIAT’s behalf. That release provided information about the tenure of the deputies involved and said they had been placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation’s outcome.

Neither MIAT nor the sheriff’s office have provided updates in that case.

The Northwest Herald submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the sheriff’s office following the January shooting seeking additional information. The sheriff’s office denied the request in its entirety, and an appeal is pending with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

A Freedom of Information Act request regarding Friday’s police shooting also is pending with the sheriff’s office.