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Deputies Justified In Shooting And Killing Motorist, Review Says

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By TODD RUGER of the Sarasota Herald Tribune

Published: January 7, 2008

SARASOTA COUNTY - Deputies were justified in fatally shooting a 39-year-old Sarasota man because he pointed a handgun at a deputy, a State Attorney's Office of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit review found.

A deputy originally stopped Michael N. Brabazon, 39, on suspicion of driving drunk December 15 on U.S. 301, the Sheriff's Office said.

Brabazon sped off when the deputy got out of his squad car, starting a chase across Sarasota that ended miles away with Brabazon shot and killed at about 10:40 p.m. on University Parkway.

Authorities say Brabazon pointed a gun at one of the deputies, and investigators found a handgun at the scene.

At the University scene, the rear windows of Brabazon's car were blown out. His body lay just inches from the car as deputies performed their investigation.

The state attorney's office will not take any further action on the case, the sheriff's office said.

Brabazon was released from prison last summer after finishing a 13-year prison sentence for armed burglary and possession of a firearm by a felon. Brabazon's crimes date back to 1986. He has been charged with burglary and grand theft.

The deputies who were put on administrative leave have returned to work: Sgt. Christopher Hallisey, Arik Smith, Scott Huber, Troy Sasse, Derek Baker and Theresa Norton, a deputy hired in July who had just started her field training the week before the shooting.

A review of the shooting found that Brabazon threw a small package from his car as he sped off, put it was never recovered.

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