Brooklyn Park Police honor Chad Miller with Officer of the Year
Officer Chad Miller has served the city of Brooklyn Park for the last 11 years. He entered the police force after serving in the military and then working in construction. “I decided to do it before I get too old and before nobody’s gonna take me,” joked Miller. “So I went back to school at about 26, got hired on at 28, and I’ve been doing this since.”
Miller has spent many of those years working patrol. During that time, he developed a certain philosophy.
“Going to different calls and different horrible situations over the years, you realize there’s bigger things in life than sticking tickets and tags on someone,” Miller said during a ride-along with CCX News. “They should be buying diapers. They should be buying formula. They should be buying groceries. Not paying for citations all the time.”
In fact, Officer Miller estimates that 90 percent of his contacts with people don’t result in a ticket or arrest. Instead, he uses those opportunities to educate and build a rapport with residents. “The most important tool that we have in this job is our ability to communicate,” Miller said.
Officer Chad Miller Develops New Initiative
The ability to communicate with the public earned Officer Miller recognition from his supervisors. “He’s really impressed us as of late, especially in the last couple years, where he’s coming up with different ways to connect with community members and build trust and legitimacy within the police department and with our community members,” said Brooklyn Park Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley.
One example is a ‘Behind the Badge’ initiative he started on Facebook, where people can learn more about the personal lives of the city’s officers. “We have lives outside of this,” Miller said. “I think a lot of times, people get sucked into the ‘Oh he’s a police officer, and that’s all I am.’ I’m not.”
The Brooklyn Park Police Department honored Chad Miller with the department’s prestigious, Officer of the Year award.
“We’re always looking for the Officer of the Year to be somebody that goes above and beyond,” explains Deputy Chief Bruley. “Someone who really invests themselves into our community, and really looks outside the box of traditional law enforcement.”
Miller shows no signs of slowing down. “If you give people respect while you’re talking to them and dealing with them, 99 percent of the time they’re gonna respect you back,” Miller said.
Miller also serves as a field training officer for the department. His supervisors call him a role model for how influential he has been with training new recruits.
