Who is Michael from The Midnight Club and what is their importance?

Michael "Bear" Kupchek is Stef's partner. Bear is one of Stef's closest friends and the one person who treats Stef the way he did before Stef's devastating injuries. Stef depends on Bear to keep him from falling into a dark depression. Bear is also a successful investigator. Bear helps Stef investigate the death of St.-Germain's body double. One night Bear gets information that an informant wants to meet with him. Bear calls Stef and tells him he will be meeting this informant and then he wants to meet Stef at his apartment. However, the informant turns out to be a cop who shoots Bear. Bear makes his way to Stef's apartment, wanting to tell him to be careful. Unfortunately, Bear is too seriously injured to communicate this information to Stef. It is not until much later that Stef learns the identity of Bear's killer.