Auburn Fires Police Officer Who Killed Burglary Suspect

AUBURN - An Auburn police officer who shot and killed a burglary suspect last month has been fired, according to Mayor Bob Roegner.

Officer Robert Michnick, who was with the Auburn Police Department just under a year, was fired Dec. 29.

``After review of his probationary status and his record over the last year by his sergeant, lieutenant, captain and myself, it was decided that it would not be in the best interest of the city of Auburn to have him continue,'' Roegner said.

All Auburn police officers must complete a year of probation before being hired permanently. Officers are judged on conduct, appearance, demeanor, knowledge of laws and cooperation with other officers.

Neither Roegner nor Auburn police would comment on the specific reasons for Michnick's firing or what role the shooting may have played in the decision.

Michnick couldn't be reached for comment.

Auburn police expect to complete their investigation of the shooting next week, Roegner said. Michnick had been on administrative leave pending the results of the internal investigation to determine whether he acted within departmental guidelines when he killed Samuel Johnson, 41, of Tacoma, on Dec. 14.

According to police reports, Johnson and another man had been seen by a security guard breaking into a downtown Radio Shack in the early morning. When police pursued, the men drove off, crashing their stolen van into a ditch at West Main Street and West Valley Highway South.

Officers then chased the men to behind a nearby funeral home.

Michnick told his superiors that Johnson then clasped his hands to his chest as if he had a weapon and began charging the officer, even after being told to halt. Michnick fired once when the two were about 10 feet apart.

However, the medical examiner determined that Johnson had been shot in the back of the neck. Both the medical examiner and the Washington State Crime Laboratory were called in by police to help determine what happened. The crime lab was expected to turn over preliminary results this week.

Michnick, a police officer for 11 years, had been involved in a shooting while serving with a California department, but police here would not discuss that incident. Auburn Sgt. Bob Karnofski had said earlier, ``We do not expect anything criminal'' to come of the Michnick investigation.

Although Michnick was fired Dec. 29, news of the dismissal has been kept quiet until now, apparently even within the department.