Menlo Park police remember one of their own: Sgt. Carl Miller Menlo Park police remember one of their own: Sgt. Carl Miller (August 28, 2002)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Menlo Park police are gathering this week at a memorial service to bid farewell to Sgt. Carl Miller, a popular officer whose suicide last week left the close-knit department reeling.

A 14-year veteran officer, Sgt. Miller was well-known for his youth outreach programs, his belief in community policing and his dedication to improving relationships between police and residents, particularly in Belle Haven, the Menlo Park neighborhood where he grew up.

Sgt. Miller, 41, died Tuesday afternoon, August 20, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Fremont police.

Two Fremont officers, who were following up on a domestic violence call from Sgt. Miller's ex-wife, were waiting outside his Fremont home when he pulled up in his sport utility vehicle. He stopped the car and then shot himself in the head, said Fremont police Detective Bill Veteran. The Fremont officers, believing they were being shot at, fired two shots back, but did not strike Sgt. Miller, he said. Sgt. Miller's ex-wife is recovering from choking injuries, he said.

"No one saw this coming," said Menlo Park police Chief Chris Boyd, who worked closely with Sgt. Miller during much of his time at the Menlo Park Police Department.

"Personally, I'm trying to stay focused on remembering what an excellent police officer he was, and the contribution he made to this department and this community. It was a large one," he said.

Aaron Johnson, director of the Onetta Harris Community Center in Belle Haven, said that for Sgt. Miller, becoming a police officer was his way of giving back to his community. Sgt. Miller was a frequent presence at Onetta Harris, chaperoning events, talking to the kids, or just dropping by for pickup basketball games, said Mr. Johnson, who has been at the community center for 27 years.

He credits Sgt. Miller with creating a better relationship between the community and the police department, with better communication and understanding on both sides.

"He got us to know police officers and the police department in a whole different light," Mr. Johnson said. "That's a relationship that's not going to be broken, and Carl cemented all of that.

"I know we're going to miss him a lot here. I hope people recognize the good Carl did for the city and this community," he said.

Atherton police Chief Bob Brennan said he first met Sgt. Miller through his work on the Red Team, a county narcotics task force targeting the drug problem in East Palo Alto in the early 1990s. He knows Sgt. Miller's family as friendly new neighbors in his Fremont neighborhood. Sgt. Miller's son and daughter "are really nice kids," said Chief Brennan.

"They're the real victims in this, the kids and the family," he said.

Like many who knew Sgt. Miller, he said he wonders if there were signs of something wrong that were missed.

"It's really tough when one of our own needed intervention and we weren't there for them," Chief Brennan said.

Rather than ask his shocked and grieved employees to go about business as usual, Chief Boyd said he sent home almost the entire staff of the police department for two days. Almost every police department in San Mateo County, as well as Palo Alto and the county Sheriff's Office, sent officers and dispatchers to cover for their Menlo Park colleagues, he said.

Chief Boyd said he knew Sgt. Miller well. They had worked together frequently over the years, and were both members of the Red Team. Later, Chief Boyd said, he was his sergeant when Officer Miller was in the community policing unit, and was his commander when Sgt. Miller became a patrol sergeant. Sgt. Miller was also a member of Menlo Park's two-year-old SWAT team, he said.

"Community policing was definitely Carl's forte," he said.

Sgt. Miller had some rocky times with the department as well. In 1992, he filed a racial discrimination complaint against the department which was later settled. A 10-day suspension for allegedly using excessive force to subdue a suspect in 1994 was later overturned in binding arbitration, but in 1995, Sgt. Miller sued the city and then-Chief Bruce Cumming for civil rights violations, saying his suspension was in retaliation for the discrimination complaint. That suit was dismissed in 1996.

A talented athlete, Sgt. Miller organized almost all of the department's sports events, which are geared to bring children and police officers together, said Chief Boyd.

Menlo Park Councilman Nicholas Jellins said he got to know Sgt. Miller through playing in the football and basketball games, and through his work with the city.

"I found him to be an amicable, concerned, involved individual," said Mr. Jellins. "He was such a good guy."

Of the numerous community programs Sgt. Miller organized, one of the most successful was a gun buy-back program following the 1994 shooting death of a Belle Haven teenager, Chief Boyd said.

That buy-back netted 366 firearms in only three days. Sgt. Miller is also well-remembered for organizing a positive rap competition after he and the Red Team were the targets of a violent rap song.

"I'd hate to see anyone remembered for their last mistake," said Menlo Park Officer Glenn Raggio, who said he often worked with Sgt. Miller over the years.

"I'm going to remember him as one good cop," he said.
INFORMATION

A memorial service for Sgt. Carl Miller is tentatively set for 1 p.m. Friday, August 30, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave, with a reception to follow. A visitation is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, August 29, at Jones Mortuary, 660 Donohoe St. in East Palo Alto. To confirm the dates, call Annie at the police department, 858-3300.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.