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Officers Accused of Cocaine Possession

Medina, NY – A police officer who was wounded last year in a shootout in a pharmacy is among three Orleans County law enforcement officers arrested Monday and charged with cocaine possession.

Village of Holley Police Chief Michael Grattan, Lieutenant Michael Russell of the Medina Police Department and Orleans County sheriff's Sergeant Donald Stilwell are charged in connection with a state police investigation.

State police say the three Orleans County officers took cocaine together for years while off-duty. They were arraigned Monday.

Russell, 31, was hailed as a hero in September 2001 when he was shot in the line of duty. He shot and killed an armed man inside a pharmacy in Medina.

Russell was critically injured in the shootout and spent months recovering as the community raised thousands of dollars for him.