Philpott wants police review board

Gus Philpott, Green Party candidate for Sheriff of McHenry County, favors creation of a Civilian Police Review Board and/or an Internal Affairs Division for the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department.

Philpott is concerned about transparency and fairness issues when dealing with discipline of Department employees. He wants such a Board to apply to both merited deputies and corrections officers. He is aware of crimes that have been committed but which were handled quietly as administrative issues within the sheriff’s department, rather than more publicly through the Merit Commission or prosecution.

Currently, only suspensions of “more than 30 days” go before the Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission, a five-member board hand-picked by the sheriff. Philpott would cause disciplinary issues of five-ten days in length (or greater) to go before the Board. Woodstock Police Department disciplinary issues of five days or more go to the City’s Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

The election for McHenry County Sheriff will be November 2, 2010.