Panel Finds Killing Unjustified -- Auburn Police Officials Say Officer Violated Rules In Fatal Shooting

AUBURN - A police shooting review board ruled yesterday that former Auburn police Officer Robert Michnick unjustifiably shot and killed a burglary suspect last month.

In a related development, personnel records obtained by The Times showed that fellow officers alleged Michnick used excessive force on several occasions.

Michnick was dismissed two weeks after the shooting.

The King County prosecuting attorney's office is expected to decide whether to press criminal charges after a Feb. 26 inquest into the shooting.

Police officials would not comment on yesterday's ruling by the three-member review board.

But relatives of Samuel Johnson, 41, the man who was shot in the back of the neck Dec. 14, said they were not surprised.

``The family was suspicious to begin with,'' said Gerald Burke, the lawyer representing Brenda Cook, Johnson's sister.

Johnson and Jesse Davis, 34, both of Tacoma, were pursued by police after they allegedly burglarized a Radio Shack store in downtown Auburn.

Michnick told police he shot Johnson after the man charged him with what appeared to be a gun.

Police later learned Johnson was unarmed and shot in the back of the neck. According to records, the bullet went in the rear of the Johnson's neck.

The review board, composed of Police Department members, did not elaborate on its statement that Michnick violated departmental guidelines for firing his gun.

Dan Donahoe, spokesman for the King County prosecutor, said this is the first time in at least five years that A police Department in King County has found a fatal shooting by an officer to be unjustified.

Meanwhile, Michnick's personnel records, obtained under the state public-records law, show that some of Michnick's fellow officers felt he used such excessive force that they threatened to quit if required to work with him again.

Michnick, 34, was fired by the department Dec. 29 after failing to pass probation.

Concerns about excessive force were cited by Auburn Mayor Bob Roegner in his letter of dismissal to Michnick.

In Roegner's letter, Michnick was said to have abused suspects, been overly aggressive and to have drawn his gun inappropriately during his almost one-year tenure with the force.

Michnick has denied any wrongdoing. In the transcript of a tape-recorded conversation Dec. 27 between Michnick, his attorney and Auburn Police Chief Jake Evans, Michnick said:

``I am not overly aggressive. I am assertive.

``I do my job. I have never brutalized a suspect or a prisoner in my life, in my career, at any time, ever.''

In written statements, Michnick's fellow officers alleged:

-- That on June 24, officers had apprehended a suspect, laid him across the hood of a police car and were in the process of handcuffing him when Michnick ``came running up, jumped onto the hood of the car and grabbed the suspect's hair. He was about to slam the suspect's face against the car when one of the officers yelled at him to stop.''

-- That Aug. 7, after an officer prepared to handcuff a man who had fled from a traffic stop, Michnick began to strike the man on the side of his head with a flashlight, even though the man was lying on his stomach with his hands behind his back.

-- That Nov. 23, a fleeing suspect had surrendered after being caught by an officer and a police dog. Even though the suspect raised his hands and said, ``I give up,'' Michnick jumped on the man, began fighting with him and caused the dog to bite the suspect.

-- That on an unspecified date, an officer responding to Michnick's backup call on a traffic stop found Michnick with his gun held 2 to 3 inches from the driver's head. The driver had an unloaded rifle in the back seat and was being cooperative, the officer said.

Michnick's personnel record also contained positive evaluations in which the officer was described as ``intelligent'' with ``a great deal of common sense.''

Michnick was scheduled to be promoted to narcotics detective.

Auburn police would not say why Michnick was up for a promotion despite fellow officers' concerns about excessive force.

Department officials have refused to spell out why Michnick was dismissed, although Evans acknowledged earlier that the shooting of Johnson was a factor.

Michnick has filed a grievance against the city, alleging he was fired without just cause, said his attorney, David Snyder of Portland.

Michnick was one of three officers involved in the fatal shooting of a suspect in 1987 when he was a member of the Costa Mesa, Calif., Police Department. That shooting was found to be justified, Costa Mesa police said.