More on the Shooting Range Incident from Sheriff’s Challenger Mike Mahon

Explanations McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and shooting range injured Deputy Eric Woods have offered about his shooting and the extent of Wood’s injury are challenged in press release which arrived this morning. The release follows:

INJURIES CONTINUE TO NAG SHERIFF’S DEPUTY — AND HIS BOSSES

McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Woods continued to experience health problems more than three months after his shooting accident at the Sheriff’s range, raising serious doubts about statements Sheriff’s officials made declaring the incident over and done with, the Mike Mahon for Sheriff campaign noted Wednesday.

A published report in late May quoted Dep. Woods as saying he was back to full functioning.  But in all of June 2010, Dep. Woods did not have one single day of normal, routine duty.

Of the 30 calendar days that month, Woods’s payroll status was “injured on duty” (IOD) for 13 days and “light duty” for another five, according to a Sheriff’s Office FOIA response.

Local newspapers published two stories in late May in which Dep. Woods personally insisted that the injuries he suffered March 15 during a shooting accident at the range were not particularly serious and a few subsequent hospital and/or doctor visits had resolved them.

Frangible bullet dust after bullets have been shot. Photo from the manufacturer.

He also restated the official version of the incident, which was that fragments of “frangible” ammunition had struck him.

Frangible ammunition is designed to disintegrate into harmless powder on impact, preventing injury to participants during live fire exercises.

According to an account quoting Dep. Woods that was published in The Northwest Herald on May 29:

“Woods said he was functioning at the same level he was before the accident.”

That was clearly not true during the month of June.

In addition to the 18 days he was either IOD or light duty, Woods was off for seven days and carried on payroll records as either “travel” or “school” for another five.

“Even if the entire incident happened as the Sheriff’s Office maintains, Sheriff (Keith) Nygren at least owes the public some notice that Dep. Woods’s injuries were more severe than originally thought, or was conveyed to the press in May, and that there have been complications beyond those already noted,” Mahon said.

Shooting Range Video from the International Cartidge Corporation, manufacturer of frangible ammunition used by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

This is true particularly in view of how forthcoming with information Woods and Sheriff’s officials were to reporters of the Northwest Herald and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald in stories published May 29 and May 28, respectively, but nevertheless 2 ½ months after the accident.

Certainly Dep. Woods could not have spoken freely with reporters without permission from his superiors.

“Sheriff Nygren thought he had put this embarrassing incident to bed, but subsequent events don’t seem to be cooperating,” Mahon said.

“He should realize that the truth will come out eventually, one way or another.”

Mike Mahon has vowed to have the entire matter investigated by an outside agency if he is elected.  He has also questioned why the Sheriff’s Office has not raised the issue of malfunctioning frangible ammunition with the manufacturer, if the incident happened as described in official reports.


Comments

More on the Shooting Range Incident from Sheriff’s Challenger Mike Mahon — 7 Comments

  1. It’s too bad that the shooting incident wasn’t even “investigated” within the Sheriff’s Dept. It was covered up right from the start, when the report-writing of deputies and corrections officers was “managed.” In two reports of corrections officers there was a 71-word string that was identical. Not just similar; identical!

    There were no written reports from Deputy Woods or from the sergeant who was in the shoot room at the time or from the lieutenant (and ranking officer present) on the range that day.

    It’s time for a new sheriff in town!

  2. Mike, tell me please, as Sheriff what will you do to combat drugs, gangs. Gangsters. What kind of community outreach programs will you design to show us you care abourt we, the regular Nods. I’m trying to figure out what it is you can do besides telling me the Sheriff is going to Kill me and that deputy Woods is a liar and that sheriff Nygren and his wife have two beautiful homes…. What will you do Mike? I’m not getting anything from you.

  3. I direct you to the terms, “Latent Injury” and “Latent Infections.”

    For Example; A lingering infection that may lie dormant in the body for a period of time but may become active under certain conditions.

    Often times these infections are causal from Post Surgical trauma, or a “Foreign Body” that may remain in the body.

    Have you ever gotten an ‘Innocent Sliver” stuck in your finger, and a week later, you find that finger to be swollen, red and extremely painful?

    I think you get it….

    Im glad the Sheriff Nygren didn’t say, “Hey Woods, you either get back to full duty tomorrow or I’m cutting you off. Kind of nice to have a boss who finds a way to keep you at 100 percent pay, and away from the 33 percent pay cut any injured worker would sustain by going on OJI. (On Job Injury)

    As a tax payer, and as a humanitarian, I do not blink an eye at the fact that a dedicated Police Officer was receiving full pay while recovering.

    So Mike Mahon, what are YOU going to do if Elected? Since you don’t return emails, I am going to keep asking you in public forum.

    Hope your felling better Deputy Woods.

  4. I have asked the same questions as Hoffa and Bachmann. I have also asked about Mr Mahons Police Officer experience. He has plenty of Correctional Officer experience but no Police Officer experience. I was told that the Cook County Correctional Academy is a 16 week Police Academy when in fact it is not. Per the State of Illinois and the Cook County Sheriffs Dept themselves The Correctional Officer Academy is 10 weeks and does not make you a State certified Police Officer. See earlier posts from me and the rersponce I received from a Patrick Mckenna. Mr MCkenna seems to think that a Correctional Officer is a Police Officer. Thier is a big difference. I have asked about a traffic stop that Mahon has had, No responce. Or how about a murder or robbery investigation he has conducted, No responce. How about naming a program that you, Mike Mahon have started. Again if you want a vacation home, Go buy one. You will be doing the same thing as Sheriff Nygren if you were to be elected Sheriff. You also would have 1 pension from Cook County and working on another. How many Sheriffs Dept employees are retired Officers from somewhere else and now work for Cook County? Please be honest in your answer. If this Mchenry County Sheriff elections does not work out for you Mike, maybe you should try running against Dart.

  5. “I hope you’re ‘Feeling’ better Deputy Woods,” Is what I meant to say.

    “Jimmy” and I were having lunch together when we ‘wrote’ our comments. They make a great Lunch Martini with “Blue Cheese” stuffed Olives here in W. Bloomfield, Michigan.

    Salude!

  6. Jimmy Hoffa – your head must be in concrete! I went to Mahon;s website and found a link called ‘Ask Mike’. I sent a question similar to yours and got a response.
    While it may not be as complete as I would have like, spelling out details, I can understand that, at this stage of the election process, details may not be the wisest thing to put out there. But Mahon, or someone with his authority di, in fact, respond. It pays to do a little research.

  7. SO Chuck, your saying that because YOU asked Mike a question and YOU received a reply, that MY telling you I had NOT, my head is in concrete?

    WOW, your a genius. You equate your experience against mine and conclude that because YOU received a reply I must have as well, and I have nothing better to do than to lie about MY experience.

    Well there ya go folks……….You sir, win a free pizza at “Chuckie Cheese” for winning the “Logic” contest.

    Thanks for your research, using your logic, I can only conclude that Mr. Mahons NON response is “Personal” and I shall vote with that in mind.

    This will be the end result of the 2010 McHenry County Sheriff’s race

    Sheriff Nygren 60 percent, Mike Mahon 37 percent, Gus Philpott 3 percent.

    Now, stop wasting our time… Mahon ran how many other times for public office within HIS OWN HOME ARENA and LOST how many times. Not only LOST, but out of what, four candidates for the same office, he didn’t even come in second…

    Good luck with that Chuck!

    Next!

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