The cost to Custer County taxpayers was $60,000 as part of the insurance deductible $700,000: that is what it took to settle an excessive force lawsuit aimed at former deputy Michael Kear et. al., when he tased and allegedly punched a handcuffed 16-year-old minor in January of 2022. $60,000 of the $700,000 is Custer Countyâs share of the deductible. Further adding to the financial sting of the cost to settle the lawsuit is that the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was wholly left out of the legal and settlement process by the countyâs insurance provider, County Technical Services, Inc (CTSI). The BOCC had only learned of the settlement when the insurance cooperative sent the county a bill for $60,000 without notice that the…