Papers: Michael Shear agrees to settle lawsuit against Suffolk after being shot by cop following traffic stop
Michael Shear appears in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead in September 2018. Credit: James Carbone
A federal judge has approved a $250,000 settlement agreement between Suffolk County and a Holtsville man who was shot by a police officer after he dragged the officer during a January 2017 traffic stop, court papers show.
U.S. District Judge Frederic Block approved the settlement Monday of the civil complaint filed by Michael Shear, 39, against Suffolk County and four officers involved in the traffic stop. The county admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and Shear agreed to release all claims related to the lawsuit, according to settlement documents filed in the Eastern District Court of New York.
Shear filed a lawsuit in June 2018, alleging police used excessive force when they used a Taser on him, shot him in the shoulder and punched, kicked and struck him with a baton by officers following a traffic stop that led to a police chase once he fled the scene. He also alleged in the suit, filed by attorneys at Liakas Law in New York, that the county improperly trained officers and failed to improperly investigate citizen complaints of misconduct.
“Mr. Shear is looking forward to concluding a difficult chapter in his life that began when he was shot by Suffolk County Police in January of 2017,” his attorney, Cassandra Rohme, said in a statement.
Shear was stopped Jan. 15, 2017, after Officer Gregory Sandbichler saw him speeding on Waverly Avenue in Patchogue, Suffolk County prosecutors said during his 2018 trial. After detecting the smell of alcohol and slurred speech, Sandbichler asked Shear to step out of his vehicle but he refused, prosecutors said at trial.
Shear started the engine and began to drive off, so Sandbichler took out his Taser and leaned into the moving car to shock Shear, prosecutors told jurors in 2018. But Shear kept going, dragging Sandbichler with him until the officer tumbled free.
Police chased Shear almost to Sunrise Highway before stopping him, prosecutors said at trial. Sandbichler then saw Shear point an object at him so he shot him. Shear’s blood alcohol content later tested at .22%, nearly three times the legal limit, prosecutors said at the time.
Shear, who had been charged in four previous driving or boating while intoxicated incidents, served one year in prison after being convicted on a DWI charge at trial. He was acquitted on a second-degree assault charge for dragging the officer, which could have led to seven years imprisonment. Jurors who acquitted Shear of assault said it was unclear what happened between the two men in the moments before Shear drove off.
The settlement agreement was approved by Suffolk County’s Ways and Means Committee last month and submitted to Block for his approval Monday.
Suffolk County officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
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