By Shereen Siewert
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a Wausau man in February was justified in his actions, Department of Justice officials said Tuesday.
DOJ Spokesman Johnny Koremenos said Deputy Sam Steckbauer will not be charged in the Feb. 27 incident, which resulted in the death of 40-year-old Shawn Igers.
Steckbauer was responding to reports of a car in a ditch on County Road FF in the town of Corning, about 10 miles southwest of Merrill, when Igers left his vehicle with a gun in his hand and refused to drop his weapon, police said.
Squad video released by the DOJ on Tuesday clearly shows Igers holding a weapon and shooting at Steckbauer before he was killed. Steckbauer is heard on the video repeatedly asking Igers to drop his gun.
Igers continued to shoot at the officer even after he had been shot and after a second deputy arrived at the scene, according to the squad car video.
Steckbauer, who was hired by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department in 2010, had been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shooting incidents. The Department of Criminal Investigation was in charge of the investigation.
