AG: Lansing police, state police were justified in fatally shooting man in 2023
LANSING — The state Attorney General's Office has cleared Lansing police and Michigan State Police of any wrongdoing in connection with the fatal shooting of a man on the city's south side early last year.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said a Lansing police officer and three MSP troopers were acting in self-defense when they shot Nicolas Micko, 35, of Lansing, during a Jan. 5, 2023, incident on Irene Court.
"Here, under all of the facts and circumstances presented, the Department concluded the MSP troopers and the LPD officer acted in self-defense and did not act in a manner that would substantiate criminal charges," the AG's office said Tuesday in a news release.
Lansing police released Micko's name shortly after the shooting. They released video of the shooting about a week later.
Three troopers and one Lansing officer fired at Micko, hitting him 14 times, as he walked toward them while pointing a gun at them after they asked him to stop, raise his hands and "get on the ground," the AG's office said. Micko died at a hospital.
"Law enforcement officers have the same privilege of self-defense as anyone else," officials said in the news release. "Shooting a gun in self-defense requires an honest and reasonable belief that an officer is in danger of being killed or seriously injured. If that person's belief was honest and reasonable, they can act immediately to defend themselves."
The Jan. 5, 2023, incident began with 911 calls about a man "acting erratically, running around the neighborhood carrying a rifle, pointing the gun at nearby homes, and recklessly firing the weapon at a neighbor's garage, home and into vacant areas along the street," the release said.
Arriving officers heard gunfire and spotted Micko running in their direction on nearby Wayne Street, officials said.
After being ordered to stop, Micko pulled a handgun from his waistband and continued walking toward the officers with the weapon pointed toward them, they said. That's when the officer and troopers began firing.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: AG: Lansing police, state police justified in 2023 fatal shooting
