In April 2025, the McHenry County Sheriff's Office SWAT team responded to assist patrol with a check for well-being and warrant service that resulted in shots fired at patrol officers from a residential structure. This prompted a full-team activation and necessitated efforts to rescue a patrol officer pinned down in an unsafe position. Although layered planning was applied to the problem and several avenues for resolution were sought, the incident ended with sniper interdiction and other officers engaging the suspect.

Lieutenant Alex Embry has served with the McHenry County Sheriff's Office since 2005 and has been a member of their multi-jurisdictional SWAT team since 2007. During his SWAT career, he has deployed as an Entry Team member and Sniper/Observer before becoming the ATL of the Sniper Unit and later a Team Leader for Entry. He was then tasked with being the unit's Team Commander. While with the Sheriff's Office, he has managed Patrol, Narcotics, and Investigative Units. In addition to SWAT, his other training responsibilities have included firearms, active shooter response, and control tactics.