21 March 2014

The Omaha man who was shot and killed by Wednesday evening by law enforcement officers had driven a vehicle toward a Fremont, Neb., police officer last month after breaking into a garage.

The Feb. 2 incident and related alleged crimes led Dodge County authorities to issue a felony arrest warrant for Willie Dean Michalak, 30.

Just before 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, members of the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force and the Omaha Police Department's gang unit went to 2212 S. 11th St. to arrest Michalak.

Officers "ran into the suspect," said Lt. Darci Tierney, an Omaha police spokeswoman. Multiple officers, from multiple agencies, fired "after there was some sort of threat," Tierney said.

Michalak was fatally wounded and was pronounced dead at the scene by Omaha Fire Rescue personnel.

No officers were injured. Tierney said two Omaha police officers involved in the fatal shooting were placed on paid administrative leave.

Department policy dictates that any officer who discharges a firearm that leads to an injury or death is placed on paid administrative leave, pending homicide unit and internal affairs investigations.

Little information was being released Thursday about the incident, as law enforcement officials investigate the circumstances of the shooting. No information had been released about the total number of officers who fired at Michalak or what agencies they represented.

Tierney said that Omaha officers present at the shooting were interviewed Wednesday night and that members of other agencies would be questioned later.

The shooting is being investigated by the Omaha Police Department's Officer-Involved Investigations Squad, Tierney said. The U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were cooperating with the shooting probe, she said.

Shawn Neudauer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said ICE officers were involved Wednesday. If an officer fired his weapon, Neudauer said, the officer would be placed on paid administrative leave.

Michalak had served time in prison for theft, burglary, theft by receiving stolen property and a probation violation.

The felony warrant charges against Michalak included:
— Habitual criminal.
— Attempt of a class II felony.
— Two counts of burglary.
— Two counts of theft by unlawful taking of more than $1,500.
— Operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest.
— Willful reckless driving.
— Possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

An affidavit for the warrant recounts a Feb. 2 encounter between Michalak and Fremont police. Fremont police Sgt. Bradley Hansen said he was investigating a burglary in progress at a Fremont house when a man, later identified as Michalak, came out from behind the house. Hansen said the man got in a white 1996 Chevy Tahoe and drove it toward him. Hansen jumped out of the way, and Michalak sped away.

Michalak eluded a police cruiser and sped down residential streets and through a busy intersection. He abandoned the Tahoe, which had been stolen, in a driveway and went to another house.

There, he stole two computers and a 2013 Jeep Wrangler that had a .45-caliber handgun inside.

The Jeep later was recovered, having been extensively damaged, Hansen said. The vehicle's stereo and spare tire and the handgun were missing.

Michalak's mother, Debra Michalak, said Thursday her son grew up in north Omaha, attending St. Philip Neri Catholic School and North High School. He did not graduate from North, she said, but later earned a GED.

As a boy, she said, he was very sports-oriented, playing football for the Little Vikes from age 4 to 12. He also loved baseball, playing on YMCA teams in north Omaha, she said.

Debra Michalak said his family had not seen him for about a month. "He had dug himself a hole and couldn't get out of it," she said when asked about her son's criminal background. "He couldn't escape from the lifestyle he had."

One thing about her son, she said: Whenever they were talking on the phone or when they were together, "Willie always made sure you knew that he loved you. It was a hug and a kiss, and 'I love you' as he said goodbye."

In addition to his mother, he is survived by his sister, Amy Randall, and his 6-year-old son, Devin. They all are of Omaha. Wednesday's shooting was the first fatal officer-involved shooting this year. In 2013, three people were killed by Omaha police officers.

It was not clear Thursday whether Michalak had a gun or another weapon and what kind of threat the officers perceived.

Tierney said the task force members had gone to the house expecting him to be armed. She said she did not know whether Michalak lived in the house or whether anyone was inside at the time of the shooting.

Bobbi Brown, who said she was visiting a friend in the neighborhood, said she heard multiple gunshots and later saw law officers enter the home. Shortly after 6 p.m., authorities had handcuffed two people, a man and a woman. It was unclear whether they were arrested or were just being questioned.

~~~from obituary courtesy of the Washington County, Nebraska Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska ~~

FindaGrave # 139546900