Chief Hugh Miller was born in Texas in 1962. His family moved to Guymon, OK in 1963, where he grew up and attended public school. Chief Miller also attended Oklahoma Panhandle State University, majoring in Business Administration and Computer Systems.
Chief Miller (at that time Private Miller) was trained as an infantryman in the U, S. Army at Fort Benning, GA in 1984. Upon leaving the service, receiving an honorable discharge from the U. S. Army Reserves in 1996, then SFC Miller, had served as an Infantryman, mortar man, Dragon and TOW Gunner, Armored Infantryman, OPFOR (opposing forces), Drill Sergeant, NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) NCO, Drill Sergeant Instructor, Brigade Color/Honor Guard NCOIC, and Senior Drill Sergeant. Chief Miller received numerous military honors, to include 4 Army Achievement Medals, 3 Army Commendation Medals, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Chief Miller was working for Phillips Petroleum Company, when he began his law enforcement career. In 1993, Sheriff Arnold Peoples hired him as a part-time jailer/dispatcher; and, after completing the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training Reserve Officers Academy, as a reserve deputy for the Texas County Sheriff’s Office in Guymon, Oklahoma.
In 1994, Chief Ken Winters offered Miller a part-time police officer / K-9 Handler position with the small Tyrone Oklahoma Police Department. Chief Miller realized that he wanted to make a career of law enforcement, so in February 1995 he accepted a “voluntary lay-off” from Phillips Petroleum during a major downsizing.
Resigning from the Tyrone Police Department, Miller accepted a position as a police officer by the Guymon Police Department in Guymon, OK. After attending the C.L.E.E.T. Police Academy in Oklahoma City, OK, Miller rose through the ranks of the Guymon Police Department, as a Patrol Officer, Detective, and Patrol Sergeant. Miller also developed, trained, and equipped the department’s Honor Guard. During his service with the Guymon Police Department, Chief Miller received numerous honors, to include several first-time awards for the department, which include the Medal of Valor, the Meritorious Service Award, and 1999 Officer of the Year.
In 1999, Miller accepted a Police Officer position with the North Slope Borough Police Department, and moved to Barrow. In November of 2000, after working in Barrow and Wainwright, Miller received an offer of a position with the Sand Point Police Department. Miller accepted the position and became the Chief of Police of the Sand Point Police Department.
Through a great deal of work, dedication, as well as a good administration and an excellent staff, the non-functional Sand Point Police Department, Emergency Management, Volunteer Fire Department, and EMS were combined and cultivated into the Sand Point Department of Public Safety, providing quality, professional emergency services to the community of Sand Point.
After the department’s divisions were all on-line, functioning, and moving in the proper direction, Chief Miller received an offer of a similar position with the City of Hoonah. Though it was a difficult decision, in January of 2003, Chief Miller resigned his position in Sand Point and accepted the position as Chief of Police/ Director of Public Safety with the City of Hoonah, where he remains to date.
Throughout his career, Chief Miller has had the good fortune to receive a great deal of training and opportunities. Chief Miller is the secretary and member of the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police, a member with the joint AML/JIA, AACOP, APOA, APSC committee on law enforcement accreditation for the State of Alaska, and a board member for the AML/JIA Law Enforcement Liability Pool. Chief Miller also holds professional memberships with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, The Alaska Peace Officers Association, The Alaska Fire Chief’s Association, and Drug Beat. Chief Miller holds an Advanced Certificate from the Alaska Police Standards Council, and is a certified police instructor.
Chief Miller advises that he has had the pleasure and honor of working with a number of exceptional people during his law enforcement career, but has to give one person the majority of the credit for his drive and achievements; his wife, Betty.
According to Chief Miller, Betty, has put up with more than most women would. Consider a wife encouraging her husband to leave a comfortable job making approx. $20 per hour (a very good wage in Oklahoma) to accept a police officer position paying $1100 per month gross, that is an exceptional spouse and partner. It is also an unfortunate fact that most wives say they will follow their husbands to the ends of the earth; however, few will actually do so. Chief Miller has been married to Betty for 23 years and they have raised three children, Tim Perez, Billy Perez, and Russell Miller. They are also blessed with six grandchildren, Johnathon, Aubrey, Tyler, Taylor, Colby and Cailby.
Chief Miller recently re-added K-9 Handler to his list of duties; K-9 Strom is a 24-month-old German Shepherd Dog, certified for patrol work, narcotics detection, and search and rescue tracking.