Cover-ups - do they happen?

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
March 18, 2009

Yesterday I received this from yet another deputy who has knowledge of how a July 13, 2008, crash report got changed.

"Sergeant H.... You already know how she changed a report so that a member of the Traffic Unit wouldn't be the "at fault" vehicle in a car accident that day back in July 2008. After that cover up Sgt. H was on the hot seat because a conscientious deputy told the woman (Lisa Jarva) to complain to the department about the accident report. Sgt. H tried to start an internal investigation into this deputy. Reason...you can't say anything to the public if it contradicts the almighty supervisor. Cover up and lie is the way a deputy has to live if a mistake is made. They can't man up and say sorry, even if they want to do that. Anyway, the reason Sgt. H changed the report, in my opinion, she was bullied into it by the deputy. She doesn't have the leadership capabilities to be supervisor (She's not the only one.) Her original report was correct, she had the deputy at fault. Big deal, deputy gets a ticket. Deputies make mistakes, why cover it up? Because that is the mentality that has been passed down for a long time. Unless of course you're not one of the "good ole boys" or a token female."

On July 13 a McHenry County woman's car was hit by a deputy who pulled off the shoulder into the side of her car. That's July 13, 2008 - eight months ago. Think the County has paid her yet?

It has been reported to the Sheriff, to the County Administrator and to the 3rd party claims administrator, ClaimsOne, that the crash report delivered to the woman was false. It was wrong. It was in error. It was, in reality, fraudulent. The woman whose car was damaged contacted the sergeant and told the sergeant that she knew the crash report was wrong. It should have been corrected by July 20. How much easier it would have been then just to correct the report. ClaimsOne would have paid the claim and that would have been the end of it.

Why is this important? Because next time YOU might be the one involved.

But has it been corrected yet, so that the woman can be paid for the damage to her car? No!

Any idea how risky it is for a deputy to speak out about what's wrong at our County's Sheriff's Department? They have a rule about that. The rule? You don't air your dirty laundry in public.

The intense traffic operations along Route 12 on that July evening were to catch drivers who had been a party near Richmond, where alcohol was sold all day without a license. I've been told on several occasions that deputies in plainclothes were there, videotaping the illegal sales. But no action was taken against the person who had been denied the liquor license but who sold alcohol anyway. Instead, deputies were detailed to stop cars leaving the party.

There will be more on that event in the near future.