At an event honoring the police dog killed in a fatal shooting in 2023, the Kane County Sheriff criticizes Aurora police

A ceremony on Friday was supposed to commemorate a Kane County Sheriff's police dog named Hudson who was killed in a fatal incident at a busy intersection on the Batavia-Geneva border in 2023.

The agency unveiled a statue dedicated to the Dutch Shepherd who was accidentally shot by police officers when they shot and killed car theft suspect James Moriarty as he fled on foot from a stolen car with what appeared to be a handgun.

But the incident sparked more ugly words from Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain – who essentially blamed Aurora police for the dog's death – as well as a scathing response from Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who called the sheriff's remarks “ridiculous, unbelievable and absolutely wrong, but unfortunately indicative of Ron Hain's tactics.”

Hain said at the ceremony that despite offers of greater cooperation, Aurora police are refusing to “work with us” and he fears that this could “harm more citizens” and police officers “in the future.”

“And K-9 Hudson is a prime example of what happens when you don’t work together,” Hain said.

While his agency patrols the unincorporated areas adjacent to Aurora, the westernmost suburb's police patrol within its borders. Much of the sprawling city of about 180,000 residents lies in Kane County.

According to Aurora police records, the sheriff botched an Aurora police undercover surveillance operation outside Moriarty's apartment the day before Moriarty's murder.

Moriarty had “warrants out for robbery and aggravated escape,” according to the records. His family and friends said his mental health had deteriorated and he had started using drugs again after a year and a half of abstinence. He had apparently attempted suicide by overdosing shortly before.

The goal of the Aurora Police Department was to use the element of surprise to arrest Moriarty without a violent confrontation.

Then deputies arrived at the scene in marked patrol cars, ignoring surveillance or Aurora's request to stay away. The deputies said they were there to impound the car on “the orders of the sheriff,” records show.

This thwarted the surveillance operation and hours of work by the Aurora Police Department.

When Moriarty came out of his apartment the next morning to find his car missing, he had stolen a woman's car from a gas station and got into a chase with sheriff's police that ended in a collision and a short foot chase before he was shot and killed by police at the corner of Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road.

They had let Hudson loose in Moriarty, and the dog was also killed in the shooting.

In a Chicago Sun-Times article last May, Hain was quoted as accusing the Aurora Police Department of being “reactive” by merely “sitting” in Moriarty's apartment, and he called his department “proactive.”

“This type of police work is about luring someone into a chase,” Hain said of Aurora's actions. “I would say they escalated the situation. … Get a search warrant, go to the apartment … get the guy.”

Irvin, who is in charge of the Aurora Police Department, subsequently attacked the sheriff at a city council meeting, saying: “The mistake that led to the unfortunate loss of life was his and his alone.”

Irvin added, “The events that followed the botched surveillance operation were unfortunate and likely could have been prevented if Sheriff Hain, who was not on the scene, had let our officers do their jobs.”

Following Hain's recent comments at the event for Hudson, Irvin released a statement saying, “As usual, Sheriff Hain takes every opportunity to steal the spotlight, even during a ceremony dedicated to commemorating the life of a brave dog handler.”

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“Ron's 'knight on the white horse' mentality is exactly why so many in the county have problems with him. His statement today blaming the City of Aurora for the dog handler's death was incredibly ridiculous and absolutely false, but unfortunately typical of Ron Hain's game plan.

“When the investigation is complete, we will actually see who is really to blame. He was right about one thing. This unfortunate situation was due to a lack of communication, but not on our part. It was all Hain's fault.”

Kane County District Attorney Jamie Mosser, who is leading the ongoing investigation into Moriarty's shooting, attended Friday's event, which she said “should have been about honoring Hudson.”

Regarding Hain's comments, she said: “I do not agree that Aurora was in any way to blame.”