Zaro, Michael
Incident Debrief: Federal Trial of a SWAT Shooting: What Went Wrong?

In 2013, Chief Mike Zaro and Metro SWAT responded to a partner jurisdiction for a four-year-old child who was being held hostage by his father. The standoff ended with a breach to the backdoor, the suspect grabbing the child by the neck and throat, and the team sniper fatally shooting the suspect. A federal lawsuit was filed and resulted in the jury awarding the family of the suspect a record $15 million.

Michael Zaro - Bio
Chief Mike Zaro began his career in law enforcement in 1994 with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. In 2004, the City of Lakewood formed their own police department and Zaro left Pierce County to help form the new department. He has worked as a Patrol Deputy, Field Training Officer, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Professional Standards Sergeant, Assistant Chief, and has been the Police Chief for the Lakewood Police Department since 2015. In addition to his official duties, Zaro has held several collateral positions such as Guild President, Public Information Officer, Chair of the Pierce County Metro Canine oversight committee, Team Commander for Pierce County Metro SWAT, as well as various positions on community boards and committees. Zaro holds Bachelor degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Washington State University, a Master of Arts in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, is a graduate of the 240th session of the F.B.I. National Academy and the 61st session of P.E.R.F.s Senior Management Institute for Police.