Name: McHenry County Sheriff's Office policy allowing deputies to not wear masks concerns some
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McHenry County Sheriff's Office policy allowing deputies to not wear masks concerns some

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September 13, 2022When Bobby Braun and his fiancée heard a knock on the door of their Cary apartment earlier this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were surprised and frustrated to find a McHenry County sheriff's deputy on the other side not wearing a mask.The deputy was trying to serve court papers to a former tenant of the apartment unit who no longer lived there, and Braun said he thought the decision to not wear a mask during the outbreak was irresponsible of the law enforcement officer.That is especially because Braun and his fiancée had been alerted by their landlord that at least one other tenant in the building had tested positive for the virus. As a result, the couple had not entered the building's hallway except to do laundry, and even then they wore masks. They instead entered and exited their home through a back door."At that point, I was just over the inconsistencies coming from the government level," Braun said, adding that police authorities wearing masks could serve as an example for the community to help slow the pandemic.McHenry County sheriff's deputies have been told it is acceptable to not wear masks under certain circumstances, according to emails obtained by the Northwest Herald via open records request. It is unclear, however, whether the agency's policy allows them to not wear masks while on civil duties like serving court papers.A sheriff's office spokesman declined to comment last week, saying the documents provided in response to the public records request should answer all of the Northwest Herald's questions.The policy explicitly allows local sheriff's deputies on patrol duties, like police officers in , to not wear a mask during traffic stops.The reason McHenry County deputies may not wear masks while interacting with drivers and passengers through a window is to keep their sense of smell and ability to communicate uninhibited, according to a late September email from Deputy Chief Robb Tadelman obtained by the Northwest Herald."One of the most dangerous tasks our deputies perform are traffic stops," Tadelman said in the email. "... During each stop our deputies just don't interact with the driver to enforce the traffic violation, but also assure other laws aren't being violated – intoxicated driver, transport of contraband, etc. To do this the deputies need their sense of smell and be able to effectively communicate which can both be difficult with the mask."The sheriff's office protocol differs from directives by some municipal police forces in McHenry County.Woodstock, McHenry and Spring Grove police departments all require their officers to wear masks at all times while interacting with the public, including at traffic stops, according to officials from each department.The officials said officers who suspect drunk or impaired driving are allowed to quickly and temporarily remove their masks in order to smell better, in cases where other evidence has been observed of a more serious infraction than a simple traffic violation."If we are interacting with the public, regardless of the distancing or what we’re trying to investigate, the face covering stays on," McHenry police Public Affairs Officer Patrick Polidori said.Sheriff's deputies usually interact with drivers for less than a minute after approaching a vehicle, and it is usually less than a minute interaction again when the officer returns with a citation, warning or after a license check, which is "well below the prolonged period of time the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] uses for an exposure," Tadelman said in the email.Deputies who place someone under arrest and transport an individual provide a mask to the arrestee and wear a mask themselves in the patrol vehicle, Tadelman said in the email. They wear them in other situations where they cannot socially distance for a prolonged period of time.But the option to not wear a mask during a traffic stop feels illogical to Braun."Getting close enough to a car to smell someone basically contradicts all guidelines and social distancing," Braun said. "Putting someone in a situation where they have to abide by the law and stay seated in their car and have someone come up to them who doesn't know if they have been exposed, unless they’re getting daily tests, it’s a risk."The McHenry County Sheriff's Office is not the only police agency in McHenry County to have received a complaint regarding law enforcement officers not wearing face coverings during the pandemic.The village of Spring Grove has received two anonymous comments requesting police wear masks, including one made verbally and one submitted through the village police department's website, village Clerk Sandi Rusher said."I strongly encourage your officers to wear face coverings when approaching the general public," according to the written complaint.Officials from the villages of Algonquin, McCollum Lake, Johnsburg, Wonder Lake and Richmond all said they had not gotten any feedback in regards to municipal police or staff not wearing masks in public.

September 13, 2022When Bobby Braun and his fiancée heard a knock on the door of their Cary apartment earlier this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were surprised and frustrated to find a McHenry County sheriff's deputy on the other side not wearing a mask.The deputy was trying to serve court papers to a former tenant of the apartment unit who no longer lived there, and Braun said he thought the decision to not wear a mask during the outbreak was irresponsible of the law enforcement officer.That is especially because Braun and his fiancée had been alerted by their landlord that at...

McHenry County Sheriff's Office policy allowing deputies to not wear masks concerns some

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