No charges for officers in Kane County police chase and shooting that killed Aurora man, K-9 officer
The Kane County State's Attorney will not be filing charges against the officers involved in a 2023 police chase that left an Aurora man and a K-9 officer dead.
The state's attorney released the body camera footage from the officers involved, which shows them firing a total of 18 shots at the suspect after a more-than-10-minute high-speed chase through multiple suburbs, which authorities said followed a month-long crime spree.
The high-speed pursuit in May 2023 involved three Kane County sheriff's deputies and a sergeant, and led to the shooting death of 38-year-old James Moriarty.
State's Attorney Jamie Mosser laid out a detailed outline of the investigation.
"Mr. Moriarty had several different incidents with law enforcement, law enforcement that included domestic violence, theft, criminal damage to state supported property, and several incidents of aggravated fleeing and looting," she said.
She said Moriarty had been under surveillance by Aurora police and the Kane County Sheriff's Department.
Moments before the pursuit, prosecutors said Moriarty carjacked a woman and, when his car was surrounded by officers, got out holding a weapon which would later be identified as an airsoft gun.
"Multiple deputies gave commands to Mr. Moriarty that included 'show us your hands,' 'put your hands up,' 'get on the ground,' and 'drop the weapon,'" Mosser said. "Moriarty refused to comply with every single one of these. As Moriarty went to the back of the Honda Accord, a gun can be seen in his right hand, pointing down on the video."
A big portion of the investigation focused on Sgt. Michael Widlarz, who is seen turning off the audio in his squad car and on his body-worn cameras.
"I believe that Sergeant Widlarz knowingly and intentionally turned out the audio to his body worn camera in violation of the statute," Mosser said.
But he will not be charged; instead, he will be disciplined, though it was not immediately clear how.
"Some of my command staff who reviews these policies on a regular basis are not in complete agreement with the attorney's assessment, but we are very thankful for the conclusion that she came to, exonerating Sergeant Widlarz from all wrongdoing," Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to correct that Moriarty was holding an airsoft gun at the time he was shot. Police originally said it was a paintball gun.
