By Jon Moss
syracuse.com
PHOENIX, N.Y. — A police officer shot with his own gun during an off-duty altercation outside a Syracuse bar last fall has been fired by both police departments where he worked.
In February, Shane Prue was fired from his position as a campus security officer with Onondaga Community College.
He was fired weeks later from his job as an officer with the Phoenix Police Department in Oswego County.
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Prue’s basic police training certificate was invalidated after the firings, records show. That means Prue, 47, will not be able to work again as a police officer in New York state.
Prue was shot during an out-of-control verbal and physical altercation among a crowd of people outside McAvan’s Pub in Syracuse at 1 a.m., Nov. 9, 2025.
At one point, Prue shoved a woman to the ground, police said. A man pulled a gun and Prue pulled out his own weapon. Prue lost control of his gun in the fight. The woman who had been shoved to the ground grabbed the gun and shot Prue with it.
The woman and the man with the gun were charged. Prue was not charged with any crime.
Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, through Freedom of Information Law requests, recently obtained internal reports and other documents from the Phoenix Police Department and OCC about Prue and the shooting.
The documents from the Phoenix police were critical of Prue’s conduct outside the bar.
Daniel Ferazzoli, the police chief in Phoenix, said in a termination letter to Prue that his conduct was “inconsistent with the standards expected of a sworn law-enforcement officer.”
“Your decisions during the event reflected poor judgment, failure to adhere to established procedures and behavior that undermines the integrity and professionalism required by this department,” he wrote in the Feb. 25 letter obtained by syracuse.com.
Prue did not respond to a request for comment from syracuse.com.
OCC released only 38 pages of documents related to Prue. The college refused to release an additional 351 pages of documents. It said doing so would be a violation of Prue’s privacy. Syracuse.com has appealed that denial.
The documents released by OCC were mainly from when Prue was hired, as well as past performance evaluations.
An OCC supervisor described Prue in a 2022 evaluation as a “courteous” officer and a “shining representative” of the campus security team. There was nothing critical of Prue in the documents released by OCC.
The altercation and shooting outside the bar at 1217 W. Fayette St. that led to Prue’s terminations was captured on surveillance footage. A description of the footage was included in the Phoenix police reports.
Prue was with three friends, who appear to be current or former law enforcement, according to a report from Phoenix Sgt. Brian Dumas summarizing his investigation into the incident.
One of the men blocked a woman from walking by. The man shoved the woman, who became upset. Then, Prue pushed her to the ground, the report said.
A nearby man in a puffy jacket pulled a gun from his waistband, the report said. He displayed it but did not point it at anyone, the report said.
Prue pulled out his personal Glock 43X 9mm pistol and pointed it at the man, the report said.
Prue appeared to give verbal commands to the man and gestured toward the ground, the report said. The video did not include any sound.
Prue then approached the man and placed his left hand on him, trying to force him to the ground. They struggled for about 30 seconds and moved into the street.
The woman physically engaged Prue, the report said. They fell to the ground. She struck Prue multiple times in the head. Prue lost control of his gun and the woman shot him with it once in the upper section of his right leg.
The woman fled.
The woman accused of shooting Prue, Sky Bessette, 25, was charged with second-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree robbery.
Her case is pending. She is scheduled to go to trial in January.
The man accused of pulling a gun out of his waistband, Yaseen Shehadeh, 31, pleaded guilty in April to criminal possession of a firearm.
Shehadeh was sentenced to five years of probation, records show. He is appealing his conviction.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick confirmed Prue did not face charges related to the incident.
“I’m not defending Prue’s conduct,” he said. “I’m just saying that, in the grand scheme of things, when somebody gets shot, we really don’t charge them with a violation, which is what, worse-case scenario, that would have been.”
The Syracuse Police Department referred questions to the DA’s office and OCC.
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