Judge OKs suit in Bay Shore man's death

A judge says a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of a Bay Shore man who died in police custody may proceed, The Associated Press reported.

Kenny Lazo's family filed the $55 million civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Central Islip in 2009, charging Suffolk prosecutors and police with rushing to exonerate the officers involved.

Judge Thomas Platt's order was dated Monday, the AP said. The county attorney did not immediately comment, according to the AP.

In April 2008, Lazo was chased down and struck with metal flashlights after police said he reached for an officer's gun during a traffic stop on the Robert Moses Causeway. He brought to the Third Precinct, where he lost consciousness before being pronounced dead a short time later at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.

A police investigation found the officers acted appropriately, and a grand jury did not indict the Suffolk officers on criminal charges.