A jury trial involving officer misconduct allegations against former Prior Lake police officer Michael Alan Ficken is set to begin next week in Scott County District Court in Shakopee.
Ficken, 34, of Savage was charged by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office in June of last year with officer misconduct, fifth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. He has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection is set to start the morning of Tuesday, March 2. Opening arguments are expected to start later that afternoon and the trial will continue into Wednesday, March 3.
According to the criminal complaint:
While Ficken was on duty as a police officer, at about 7 a.m. June 10, he allegedly called his former girlfriend and when she didn’t answer, he drove to her house in Prior Lake. When Ficken arrived, he saw a vehicle he did not recognize and allegedly ran the license plate, without any known work-related reason to do so.
Ficken then allegedly went inside the house and attempted to find the 30-year-old woman, who was in a lower-level bedroom with the door locked. Ficken asked to be let into the bedroom, and the woman said, “No,” the complaint states.
Ficken then allegedly broke through the bedroom door while the woman attempted to hold it shut. While inside the bedroom, Ficken began to yell at the woman and a man who was inside the room with her, according to the complaint.
Ficken was then escorted out of the home by the woman and returned to duty. The man and woman then called 911, and Ficken was arrested by the Shakopee Police Department later that day to avoid a conflict of interest.
Following an internal investigation into the matter, Ficken was terminated from his position as a Prior Lake police officer on Sept. 21, 2009.
The Dakota County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case to avoid a conflict of interest.
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