Port Barrington suspends police operations, puts officers on leave

The small village of Port Barrington suspended all its police operations this week after town leaders placed its chief and only other full-time officer on administrative leave.

Village President Mike Head confirmed the suspension via e-mail Thursday afternoon, but offered no further details on reasoning behind the moves.

For now, the McHenry County Sheriff and Lake County Sheriff have agreed to take on daytime policing duties within their respective counties' portions of the village.

"We have every confidence in the (counties) to handle our needs and in no way feel that this poses a safety issue to our residents," Head wrote. "If given time, since this situation is still less than 24 hours old, we will issue a statement ASAP as to the events that led to our decisions."

Neither of the officers placed on leave, Chief Ronald Chan nor Cmdr. Lawrence Bender, could be reached for comment. According to the village's Web site, they have a combined 42 years of police service.

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said his deputies routinely respond to nighttime calls in Port Barrington, when the village's officers are off duty, and so the additional service should not be a problem.

"We are, by default, their police department now," he said. "It's not a drain on our resources. We're happy to do it."

Port Barrington is a 1.1-square mile community straddling the McHenry and Lake County line along the shores of the Fox River, south of Island Lake and northeast of Cary. The community, with an estimated population of 1,600, was known as Fox River Valley Gardens until changing its name in 2003.