A lawyer for the family of a Bay Shore man who died in police custody said Suffolk authorities can't be trusted to conduct a fair investigation of his death so federal officials should take over. "We are extremely concerned that this case ... will not be given the proper consideration that it might otherwise receive if police were not involved," Fred Brewington, of Hempstead, wrote in a letter to the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn requesting federal involvement. Brewington based his concerns on his experience dealing with Suffolk law enforcement authorities before and after Kenny Lazo, 24, died April 12 after he struggled with police following his arrest on drug charges.

The deaths of David Glowczenski, 35, who died in 2004 after Southampton police used pepper spray and a Taser on him, and John Cox, 39, of Ronkonkoma, who died in 2005 while Suffolk police tried to subdue him and used a Taser, didn't result in the deaths being reviewed by a grand jury, Brewington said. The Glowczenski and Cox cases are evidence that Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota's office is unlikely to let a grand jury examine Lazo's death or determine if police acted properly in Lazo's case, Brewington said.