An Onondaga County sheriff's deputy was suspended without pay Wednesday over a traffic stop in which he Tasered a mother in front of her children in January.

After an administrative hearing Wednesday, Deputy Sean Andrews was suspended from his $49,095-a-year job for 30 days, according to Deputy John D'Eredita, a spokesman for Sheriff Kevin Walsh.

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Andrews, a deputy for the past four years, was taken off road patrol after he pulled over Audra Harmon and shot her with his stun gun twice in front of her two children on Hopkins Road in Salina. He initially told her he saw her talking on her cell phone while driving, but after she said she could disprove that, he accused her of driving 5 mph over the speed limit, according to Harmon. When she got out of her minivan then did not immediately return at his request, he drew his Taser on her. After she got back in the van, Andrews pulled her out and Tasered her.

Harmon was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and speeding. All the charges were dropped.

The case was reported last week in The Post-Standard and was broadcast on national television and spread across the county via the Internet. The publicity did not lead to Andrews' suspension, D'Eredita said. Walsh could not be reached for comment.

What happens next with Andrews will be determined by the civil service process, D'Eredita said. If his suspension goes beyond 30 days, his pay must resume, according to state law. If that happens, Andrews would be placed in the sheriff's "temporary assignment unit,'' where deputies facing pending discipline report to a room but are not allowed to do any work.

Neither Andrews, 37, nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.

Harmon, 38, sued the sheriff's office last week over the incident. Her lawyer, Terrance Hoffmann, said he hopes the sheriff's office takes more disciplinary action against Andrews. But if the deputy's record is free from any other misconduct, he should not be fired over the Tasering, Hoffmann said.

"We would like for him to be intensively retrained not only in the appropriate use of Tasers, but also trained in how to appropriately deal with the public," Hoffmann said. "We would also like an apology."

John O'Brien can be reached at jobrien@syracuse.com or 470-2187.