Syracuse, NY -- An Onondaga County jury has unanimously cleared a sheriff’s sergeant of wrongdoing in a 2020 traffic stop that left a teacher in handcuffs.
Sgt. Sean Andrews was sued for impropriety after the March 5, 2020 incident on Wetzel Road near Liverpool High School. The lawsuit also names the county and the sheriff’s office.
Michaela Kiewra, a Syracuse schoolteacher, accused Andrews of needlessly roughing her up during the encounter. She was rushing home from her child’s school event after a reported fire alarm at her Clay residence.
But Andrews maintained that he pulled Kiewra over for going 58 mph in a 30 mph zone and that she took off on him after initially stopping. When she stopped a second time, Andrews put her in handcuffs and later charged her with fleeing police, among other misdemeanors.
Kiewra said in her lawsuit that she took off again because she thought Andrews’ lights and siren were a police escort to get her home sooner. She stopped a second time after realizing her mistake.
Kiewra accused Andrews of needlessly pulling her from the vehicle the second time, hurting her wrist, and handcuffing her.
The jury heard from both Kiewra and Andrews during what amounted to about a day of testimony last week, lawyers said.
The civil jury of six deliberated for about two hours before clearing Andrews of wrongdoing.
County Attorney Bob Durr said that Andrews acted properly during the traffic stop.
Andrews made headlines in 2009 after a dash cam video showed him using a Taser on woman during a previous traffic stop. That woman also sued, winning a $75,000 settlement, her lawyer, Terrance Hoffman has said.
Hoffman was also Kiewra’s lawyer in the recent jury trial. He said Tuesday that he respected the jury’s verdict.
Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-6070.
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