The man chosen to lead the Hollister Police Department will step
into his second role as a chief if the City Council confirms the
hiring tonight.
The man chosen to lead the Hollister Police Department will step into his second role as a chief if the City Council confirms the hiring tonight.
After an extensive search and four months without a permanent police chief, Hollister City Manager Dale Shaddox selected 45-year-old Jeff Miller.
If confirmed, Miller will replace former Police Chief Bill Pierpoint and interim chief Larry Todd.
Miller’s first police chief position in Rohnert Park was filled with controversy. He resigned in October 2001 after 18 months on the job, according to reports from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Miller’s problems in Rohnert Park began almost immediately during his tenure as the public safety director, according to officials and newspaper reports. The city’s public safety director manages both the police and fire departments, a total of about 100 employees.
Some officials from both Rohnert Park and Hollister, however, said Miller’s fate may have been sealed before he arrived in March 2000.
Miller was recruited to Rohnert Park from his position as a captain on the Los Gatos Police Department.
“He got caught in a political deal,” said former Rohnert Park City Manager Joe Netter. “It wasn’t a good situation for him. I think he could have walked on water there and never succeeded. I believe they (the union) wanted someone from within.”
Netter, who hired Miller, said there was pressure to hire the department’s police commander at the time, Tom Bullard, who was hired as public safety director when Miller resigned.
Former Rohnert Park Mayor and current Council member Jake MacKenzie agreed with Netter and said the police and firefighters union “drove him out of town.”
“There was a cadre of officers who did everything possible to ruin his reputation,” MacKenzie said.
By the end of Miller’s tenure there, a majority of the Rohnert Park police officers had expressed discontent with his leadership, according to several Press Democrat reports.
At one point, the union organized a petition characterizing Miller as a poor leader. Of the department’s 70 union members, 52 signed the petition, according to former union President Vince Amato.
Hollister Council members said they would not comment about Miller because it’s a personnel matter.
“All I can say is there was a background check done,” said Councilman Tony Bruscia.
At the time of Miller’s tenure in Rohnert Park, Shaddox was city manager of neighboring Cotati. Shaddox met Miller only once at a Relay for Life event, he said.
Shaddox did know about the alleged morale problems within the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department because the issue was highly publicized. One reason Shaddox said Miller’s situation “went sideways” was a policy change Miller immediately enacted for officers.
Miller disagreed with a long-standing practice that had officers working one assignment for an extended period of time. He preferred a rotating system, which officers contested.
“From a distance, we were all applauding Jeff for being an excellent department head,” Shaddox said.
Officers and officials from Rohnert Park said problems snowballed after a shoot-out that ended with a police officer killing an armed civilian.
The man who was shot by police had been rampaging through a mobile home park firing at people, said Sgt. Don Wagner, the officer who pulled the trigger, on Thursday.
After the incident, according to officers, Miller remained quiet about the shooting and did not offer public support for Wagner.
“He stuck his head in a hole and hid,” Amato said. “He came forward almost nine months later.”
Led by the union, displeasure brewed throughout the department from that point. And Miller’s reputation never recovered, according to officials. Six officers left the department during Miller’s tenure, Amato said.
At the time, Miller said his resignation was the best decision for both the city and his family. Miller then took a job as an officer in the City of Sonoma.
Current Rohnert Park Mayor Armando Flores said Miller handled the situation in Rohnert Park with dignity and professionalism.
Flores, a Council member since 1993, said Miller’s relationship with officers never recovered from its rocky start. Flores called Miller a “very decent, likable individual.”
“He recognized at a certain point, it was best to go different ways,” Flores said. “I give him credit. He made a responsible choice.”
Shaddox mentioned that Miller was the first of several Rohnert Park officials to depart the city. For one, Netter had been city manager for 12 years before his Council-voted termination in January 2002.
Netter said seven of 10 department leaders were terminated or offered severance packages since 2001.
“There was essentially a purge there,” Shaddox said.
Former Hollister interim City Manager Ed Kreins performed the search and background checks of Hollister police chief candidates for $9,500.
He said he performed an “in-depth” background investigation of the top three candidates that included talking with former employers, subordinates, Council members and police unions.
“Based on my findings I found nothing to disqualify Miller as a candidate, nor did the oral board members, who were all aware of what happened in Rohnert Park,” Kreins said. “The decision is Dale Shaddox’s – not mine. But I would not have recommended Miller in the top three if I did not think he could do a good job for the city.”
After the five-member oral review board narrowed a pool of eight finalists to three, Shaddox made the decision.
During an interview between the two, Shaddox said he questioned Miller about Rohnert Park and whether that experience would make him a better chief.
“I asked him about that point blank, and so did members of the oral board,” Shaddox said. “Jeff is very, very open. It really was an eye-opener for him. He knows he needs to anticipate there may be repercussions from change.”
Miller is currently a sergeant at the Sonoma Police Department. He also worked under Todd in Los Gatos. Todd said he could not comment until tonight’s meeting.
Miller was captain and second in command when Todd was the Los Gatos police chief. Todd will reportedly depart the HPD in early August if the city hires Miller.
Amato said he was surprised to hear Hollister was considering Miller for police chief.
“People do learn by their mistakes,” Amato said. “Maybe he knows he made mistakes. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I also believe you are what you are.”
Councilman MacKenzie, however, said he was “very pleased” Shaddox chose Miller.
“He made a good selection, and I don’t think the (Hollister) Council members will regret it,” MacKenzie said.
