Prosecutor: Lincoln County Deputy Justified In Shooting

A prosecutor says a Lincoln County deputy who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop was justified in his actions.

According to documents the state Department of Justice released Tuesday, deputy Samuel Steckbauer was dispatched Feb. 27 to investigate a report of a vehicle in a ditch on a rural road south of Merrill. When Steckbauer arrived, the vehicle’s driver, 40-year-old Shawn Igers, opened fire with a handgun, striking Steckbauer’s squad car. Steckbauer returned fire and hit him three times.

The documents indicate Igers was subject to a restraining order issued in August that prohibited him from possessing firearms.

In his legal opinion, Lincoln County District Attorney Galen Bayne-Allison said the deputy “chose to take actions that not only are permitted but in all honesty required.”

He called Iger’s death “tragic.”

Despite a troubled past, Igers was the 2016 commencement speaker at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County.

Steckbauer had twice been named “Deputy of the Year.”