MIAT is the McHenry County Major Investigations Assistance Team. MIAT is mentioned in the December 2011 Woodstock Police Department report to the City Manager and City Council. Woodstock PD assisted (City of) McHenry PD, when it had two serious incidents within one hour on December 3, 2011.
Various departments in McHenry County make their officers available, when a wide range of investigative specialties is needed. This results in economies to all departments, because they don’t all have to staff up with experts in many investigative areas, often seldom needed, just waiting to be called.
Thinking back to June 2011, I wonder why the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department didn’t request MIAT after MCSD was summoned to the Somerset Drive residence of Jack and Audrey Feldkamp for a triple homicide.
Mr. and Mrs. Feldkamp and neighbor Doran Bloom died as a result of events of that evening, and the Sheriff’s Department quickly concluded its investigation based on the statements of the one injured survivor.
Suppose that expert investigators from various departments had been called in to examine the crime scene. Might these independent officers, who would not have been in a direct-report employment relationship in the sheriff’s department, have come up with different observations, answers and conclusions about what had happened? Would their questions have taken the investigation into different territory?
Did the events occur as related by Sheriff Nygren so quickly in a press conference the following week? Most electronic-news reporters were excluded from the press conference, which could have eliminated some embarrassing questions to the sheriff. If I remember correctly, a Patch.com reporter was admitted, but McHenry County Blog, FirstElectricNewspaper and the Woodstock Advocate were kept out.
Sheriff Nygren made a serious error in excluding local blogger Cal Skinner (McHenry County Blog) and Pete Gonigam, who publishes First Electric Newspaper. I can understand, but not professionally accept, his snubbing me. And it doesn’t have anything to do with my coming in third in the 2010 race for County Sheriff. By letting in only “credentialed” media, Nygren attempted to control the news, knowing their stories would be headlines for a day or two and then be “old news”.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Department quickly announced a story about what happened, concluded its investigation, and closed the case. I’ve been through the 260-page report of MCSD; it has more holes in it than Swiss Cheese. I could describe it another way, but I’ll refrain. I do expect experts not to be so polite.
The Sheriff’s Department may think that this case is over and done, but it’s not. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a person close to the case revealed that major, national media are looking very closely at the events of June 7, 2011 and how the investigation was conducted.
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