Michael Shea
Served 1976-2015
Michael (Mike) Shea was born on August 2, 1957 in Hamilton, Ontario with a strong Irish background. His grandfather had immigrated from Ireland many years earlier. Mike’s father Thomas (Tom) Shea was a Hamilton Police Officer and served from 1954-1990, retiring at the rank of Inspector. Tom is shown below in uniform in 1954 and with Mike as Senior Officers.
Mike was one of the first graduates of the Law and Security Diploma Program at Mohawk College in 1976. He joined the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police that same year as a Police Cadet and was sworn in as a Constable in 1978.
On May 7, 1987, Mike was working as an Acting Sergeant in the Identification Unit when he was shot at point blank range with a 12-gauge sawn-off shotgun while at the Picton House tavern at 285 Picton Street, Hamilton. Mike recounted the events of the shooting as follows:
“I was dispatched to investigate a double stabbing and assault – two people were stabbed, and one had his nose bitten off. Two of the assailants were Thomas Bogue Stewart and Gord Stadnick (the infamous Walter Stadnick’s older brother). I was actually in the bar for about ten minutes and in the area of the pool table, photographing the crime scene, collecting evidence and dusting for fingerprints.
Two uniformed Police Officers (Lee Willis and Doug Lawson) were assigned inside the door. The bartender, who was situated just inside the front doors (south/west side of the building) identified Stewart as one of the assailants, when he walked in the door. He was wearing a long leather trench coat and had his right hand in his right coat pockets. When the female bartender said – “That’s him there – that’s the guy involved in the stabbing” – both Officers Willis and Lawson grabbed him. They put the handcuffs on his left wrist and were wrestling with him, trying to secure both his hands.
Remember this was being investigated as a stabbing and assault, there
was no indication of a firearm. I saw the two uniformed officers
struggling with Stewart and stopped what I was doing over by the pool
table and started to make my way over to assist them.
The Hamilton Spectator, Paul Lagall (July 29, 1999),
“A barroom brawl spinning out of control”
In a matter of seconds, it had become a more aggressive struggle. As I approached, Stewart’s jacket came open and I could see he had a weapon. I jumped on Stewart and wrestled with him, trying to help the two uniformed officers. He twisted away from us and pointed the gun at me. I reached for it and he turned directly at me, firing at point blank range. The blast threw me back several feet and I was immobilized. I was shot in the upper right leg and hip. I later learned it was a sawn-off shotgun. The reason the officers could not handcuff his right hand was that he had the shotgun on a sling around his neck and had the inside pocket cut out of his coat. He was gripping the gun the entire time, with his right hand.
I understand that he later said he was coming back to finish the fight, not intending to shoot a policeman. The entire struggle probably didn’t last more than three to four minutes before I was shot. Officers from outside and inside the crime scene jumped on Stewart after I was shot, and he was subdued.”
The Hamilton Spectator, Christina Dona, (1988), “Man who shot officer in leg gets 14 years”
A Hamilton Spectator reporter, Paul Legall was also at the Picton tavern to take his own pictures and to write a story of the incident, so he witnessed the crime. Thomas Bogue Stewart turned out to be a ‘repeat offender’ with a substantial criminal record. Stewart claimed then that it was all just an accident.
Mike endured a great deal of immediate medical treatment and pain. The doctors were able to save his shattered right leg, but it never was going to be the same. After his medical recovery, he returned to work to full duty, but continues to endure discomfort and pain to this day.
Sawn off shotgun used by Stewart.
Stewart plead guilty to a criminal charge of Aggravated Assault in April of 1988 and was sentenced to fourteen years in a penitentiary in Canada. He only served about five years in Canada and then was deported to Scotland. It turned out that he had immigrated to Canada as a child, but he had never obtained Canadian Immigration Status.
The people of Scotland were not happy about this event but still Stewart did arrive in their country. The public were uneasy after the local police issued a Public Warning about his presence. During the years after his arrival, he was suspected of one unsolved murder and did eventually go to prison for brandishing a revolver at a Police Officer during an arrest.
Mike’s long list of accomplishments, experiences, and education during his career as a Police Officer and leader are remarkable. Mike was promoted to Superintendent in 2000 and was responsible for Corporate Services which included Fleet, Facilities, Property, Records, and Computer Services. He worked in many aspects in policing including Uniform Patrol, Traffic, Child Abuse, and Forensics. He has been a Professional Standards Staff Sergeant, Inspector of Quality Assurance and Adequacy, and a Divisional Patrol Superintendent. Superintendent Shea was the Operations Commander for the Canadian Cycling Championships and the Road World Cycling Championships, both held in 2003.
The Hamilton Spectator,
(1980s) “Drivers switching to propane”
For more than thirty years, Mike has been committed to community and volunteer service. He is currently the Board Chair of Theatre Aquarius and the Chair of the Major Donations Committee for the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM. He is a longstanding volunteer with Good Shepherd Services and a supporter of numerous local charities and events. He has received four Paul Harris Fellowship awards from Rotary, was a 2008 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Finalist, and received the Volunteer of the Year Award from Good Shepherd.
When assigned as the Det. Sgt. of Child Abuse Branch, he was part of the investigative team that identified and successfully prosecuted the first multi-jurisdictional organized pedophile ring operating within the City.
Mike has been awarded diplomas and degrees from Mohawk College, McMaster University, Ontario Police College, Western University Ivey School of Business (Master of Business Administration Degree) and recognition from the City of Hamilton, Province of Ontario, and the Canadian Government. During his career he received thirty-one commendations, over six hundred letters/cards of appreciation and forty-three awards, certificates, and plaques, including Member of the Order of Merit of Police Services from the Governor General of Canada and the twenty and thirty year Police Exemplary Service Medal.
On May 24, 2013 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada presented Superintendent Mike Shea with the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The Order of Merit was created in 2000,
‘to recognize conspicuous merit and exceptional service by members and employees of Canadian police forces whose contributions extend beyond protection of the community’.
We are grateful for Mike’s commitment to protect our community through his service and sacrifice and for the impact he continues to make within his community. He is married and has an adult child.
Mike retired at the rank of Superintendent in 2015 with 39 years of service.