No charges for state troopers, Lansing police in man's fatal shooting, AG says

Police and state troopers will not be charged in the 2023 fatal shooting of a Lansing man, the Michigan Attorney General's Department announced Tuesday.

The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office had requested the department review the case involving Nicolas Micko's death on Jan. 5, 2023, for any possible wrongdoing or misconduct by Michigan State Police and Lansing police officers.

In a statement Tuesday, state officials said the officers "were justified in their use of deadly self-defense."

A department memo concluded all officers acted legally with the honest belief they were in danger.

Residents near the 2000 block of Irene Court called 911 to report a neighbor pointing a gun and shooting around the street, according to audio recordings Lansing police released along with body cam footage.

Micko was acting erratically, pointing the gun at nearby homes and firing the gun at a garage, home and into vacant areas on the street, according to callers.

MSP Troopers Robert Dellapelle, Alan Mater, Scott Ziesman and Lansing Police Officer James Zolnai heard gunshots when arriving to the scene and believed it was an active shooter situation, the Department of the Attorney General said in the Tuesday press release on its review of the case.

Body cam footage shows Micko walked toward officers as they yelled at him to put his hands up.

"As Micko approached the officers, you can hear officers yelling 'Get your hands up!' multiple times and 'Hey, Don’t do it!'" an AG department memo to deny a warrant for charges against the officers stated.

Micko stopped approximately 50 feet from the officers and drew a pistol from his waistband before continuing to walk toward police, according to the release. He ignored officer commands and aimed the gun at officers, authorities said.

The three MSP troopers and Lansing police officer shot at Micko and struck him 14 times, according to the release.

The exchange lasted approximately 30 seconds from the time officers encountered Micko to shots fired, state officials reported.

Officers recovered a Ruger LCP .380 black semi-automatic pistol from Micko after the shooting, according to the release. The gun had one live bullet in the chamber and at least one live round in the magazine.

Officers searched Micko's mother's home, where they found multiple fired bullets, fired cartridge casings and bullet holes in the home, according to the release. They also found empty cases of beer, empty beer bottles and shotgun shells in his room.

Micko struggled with alcohol and started drinking again after a work injury, breaking a period of sobriety that lasted for the last 2.5 to 3 years, his mother and brother told officials in the AG memo.

He had been been sleep deprived for five days and asked his mother to pick up water because he felt dehydrated on the day of the shooting, his family said in the memo.

Micko's sister stated she believed he was detoxing for five days without alcohol on the day of the shooting.

"According to one neighbor ... when she had contact with Micko that day, she could tell by looking into Micko’s eyes that, 'He was on something,'" the warrant denial memo stated. "She believed he might be using methamphetamines, and in her opinion, he might also be schizophrenic."

The Sparrow Hospital medical examiner told MSP Micko had been hospitalized in the past due to alcohol but the ME did not receive documentation or reports of mental illness, the warrant denial memo stated.

"There existed no opportunity for officers to use de-escalation techniques," the document said. "Micko had already posed a threat to his neighbors, was a danger to all police officers at the scene as well as to the public from the moment he pulled the gun. The officers had no choice but to fire to eliminate the threat."