Atlanta Police Name New Crime Lab Director

A retired Army special agent and forensic specialist joined the Atlanta Police Department crime lab team last month, Atlanta Police announced Monday.

Don Mikko took on the role of crime lab director and is responsible for overseeing the lab that supports investigative agencies in the department.

"These services are hugely important to supporting our investigative work, solving crimes and achieving justice for victims affected by crime," Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said. "Don’s experience, wealth of knowledge and leadership in the Crime Lab will be a tremendous asset to both the Department and to the citizens of Atlanta."

The Atlanta Police Department’s crime lab provides state-of-the-art forensic services in firearm and toolmark identification, drug testing, National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network, Integrated Identification Ballistic Systems support and 24/7 crime scene support. Staff includes seven forensic examiners and technicians.

Mikko has served as a Special Agent in the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) for 15 years and has spent the past 22 years as a Forensic Firearm and Toolmark Examiner at the U.S. Army Crime Laboratory, Fort Gillem, GA.  

He was the Chief of the Firearms Branch at the Army Crime Lab for the past 12 years.  

Mikko is an American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors-Laboratory Accreditation Board inspector and International Organization for Standardization assessor and is certified by the Association of Firearms and Toolmark Examiners in all three forensic disciplines, which includes firearms, toolmarks and gunshot residues.  Less than 3-percent of his colleagues are certified in all three disciplines and he serves on the Association of Firearms and Toolmark Examiners certification committee.

Come join the rest of the VaHi-Druid Hills Patch fans on Facebook!  It's Patch and Facebook together. Doesn't get much better than that.