No Charges for Munising Officer

No charges will be filed against the Munising City Police officer who shot and killed a man last month. 46-year-old Timothy Mitchell of Munising died at the scene of the shooting in the Wetmore area of Alger County moments after a high speed chase ended. Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese, who was appointed as a special prosecutor by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, found that Officer Justin Schlabach acted in self-defense when he shot Mitchell twice in the chest on July 14. Wiese’s investigation found that Mitchell was intoxicated, and had been involved in a fight moments earlier in the town of Christmas. When Schlabach attempted to conduct a traffic stop in Munising, Mitchell fled the scene at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. According to the report, after Mitchell crashed his car in Wetmore, he aggressively came towards the officer, making him fear for his life. The prosecutor concluded that Mitchell’s actions, and the fact that police back-up had not yet arrived, meant that Schlabach was justified in shooting Mitchell.