A Kane County lieutenant said he thinks the sheriff he hopes to unseat in this year’s election ordered him suspended for three days last year for political reasons.
“It is my right to run for sheriff,” said Lt. Willie Mayes Sr., reached by phone Monday. “My right shouldn’t be impeded by someone because they sit in that office.”
Mayes has filed for judicial review of the suspension, which the sheriff’s Merit Commission unanimously upheld in a late November decision.
“Politics are after 5 o’clock at night for me,” Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer said, also in a phone call Monday. “The decision I made as the sheriff during 9 to 5, I stick by that. I am the final sayer of discipline in the office.”
Records show Mayes’ three-day suspension following an officer-involved shooting was for failing to be reasonably aware of the performance of his subordinates or provide the appropriate guidance and control; neglect of duty; and unsatisfactory work performance. Mayes oversaw the crime scene the night of the Sept. 13 shooting, Kramer said.
“My conclusion was you get a day off for three of the things I thought were glaring violations,” Kramer said, explaining the suspension.
An officer could have been harmed during the event, Kramer said.
“Officers made the determination their life was basically being threatened and had the right to use lethal force,” Kramer said.
No one was hurt by the bullet fired in the September incident by a Kane County sheriff’s deputy during the struggle to apprehend a burglar inside a Big Rock Township home, the Beacon-News reported. Marc Eberly, 32, of Hinckley, was arrested and charged with felony residential burglary; two counts of felony attempted disarming of a peace officer; and misdemeanor criminal damage to property.
Deputies went to the home about 3 a.m. Sept. 13 after a 77-year-old woman called 911 and said someone had broken into her house. Two deputies got there and found that a rear door had been broken in, according to the sheriff’s office. Eberly physically confronted the deputies while they were checking inside the home, according to the sheriff’s office.
Eberly tried to disarm both deputies, and one of the deputies then fired a single shot at him, sheriff’s officials said. The round went through Eberly’s sweatshirt and into the floor, according to sheriff’s reports.
Kramer said the three-day suspension for Mayes was fair, and that a sergeant on scene and an investigative lieutenant who should have gone but didn’t were each suspended for one day.
There’s a certain amount of trauma involved when an officer shoots at someone, Kramer said. Even though the bullet didn’t kill or seriously hurt anyone, it’s important to follow procedure to make sure the officer is OK, he said.
“You have an officer discharging a firearm with the intention of using lethal force,” Kramer said. “That’s a big deal. One of the reasons the discipline was met out the way it was was at the very least, Lt. Mayes should have got a hold of the chief deputy and informed him what was going on and that phone call was never made.”
Per policy, the deputy who fired should also have had his gun taken away, been given the opportunity to go to a hospital to talk to someone, and been given the chance to talk to an attorney or union representative, Kramer said. Mayes should have been overseeing the sergeant and making sure all those things got done, Kramer said.
Mayes is running against Sgt. Ron Hain in the Democratic primary for sheriff. Kramer and Sgt. Kevin Tindall are vying for the Republican nomination. The winners of the primary races will face off on the November ballot.
Mayes, who said he’s been with the sheriff’s office for 26 years in various capacities, previously ran for sheriff in 2014, when he lost to Kramer.
Mayes filed his complaint seeking judicial review of the commission’s decision in Kane County Circuit Court through attorneys with the firm Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. It names as defendants Kramer, the Sheriff’s Merit Commission of Kane County, Merit Commission Chairman Elmer Weber, Vice Chairman Peter Burgert and Secretary Todd Zies.
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Merit commission members are appointed by the sheriff and approved by the Kane County board. The complaint states all three commission members took part in proceedings resulting in the commission denying his appeal of the suspension Kramer imposed.
“I thought the decision was over and done with when it was reviewed by the Merit Commission,” Kramer said. “But you know, he has the legal remedy to go to the court next, and I will protect his right to do that every day of the week.”
In the complaint, Mayes calls the commission’s decision “capricious, and contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence,” and a “wholly arbitrary and clearly erroneous” interpretation of sheriff’s office policy and the general orders he’s accused of violating, further stating it’s contrary to law and violates his rights.
On Sept. 18, the sheriff sent a notice to Mayes ordering him to attend an investigative interview on Oct. 3.
“You failed to be reasonably aware of the gravity of the situation, leading to your failure to follow proper procedures as per policy,” the notice states. “You also failed to provide the proper guidance to deputies under your supervision, after they were involved in a traumatic experience.”
Mayes maintains the suspension is about something else, and said he could only think of one motive for tarnishing his record.
“I believe it has a lot to do with politics,” Mayes said.