Former Holly Hill Police Chief Jeff Miller exposed himself and repeatedly asked a rookie female officer to perform a sex act on him, according to an internal affairs investigation released Friday. Miller also bragged about having sex with women, including suspects, victims and witnesses of crimes, according to the report.
Miller resigned on March 15 during the investigation, which has revealed shocking allegations of sexual harassment at the Holly Hill Police Department. The investigation also led to the resignation of Holly Hill Police Capt. Chris Yates on May 23. Sgt. Shannon Fountain resigned this week.
The incident with Miller is one of several explosive allegations in the report.
The former rookie officer said the incident happened in either April or May of 2008. She said there was an “inner circle” of people at the police department that included Miller and Yates. She was a rookie at the time and she was excited that the inner circle had asked her to join them for a social gathering.
She said she didn’t want to have to worry about drinking and driving, so she had a friend drive and accompany her. She said they went to Razzle’s Nightclub in Daytona Beach and met with the group.
She said at the end of the night as she walked with her friend to the car, Miller came up behind her and offered her a ride. Her friend said no and the two women left.
“Miller did not accept no,” the report said.
He drove after them and kept texting the female police officer that he just wanted to talk and be friends. The woman’s friend told her to ignore him. The two women ended up pulling over at Ross Point Park and she got in the car with Miller. Her friend left.
Once inside Miller’s car, the woman said they were just talking. Miller then exposed himself and urged her to perform a sex act, she told investigators.
“And I did not say no and he did not physically force me and it is very humiliating,” she said.
She said that at the time, Miller was not yet police chief, he was an investigator. However, due to his status within the “inner circle,” she feared losing her job if she did not comply.
After Miller “started saying some really (expletive) up things” to the woman, she became scared and stopped and Miller then began groping her, she told investigators. She told Miller she was sick and to take her to her mom and dad’s house but he refused.
She told Miller she needed something to eat and he finally agreed to take her to a restaurant.
Miller told her that he and his zone partner at the time had a game about how many women in the city they could sleep with. She said she recalled Miller bragging about how many women he had slept with in Holly Hill.
She said the women “were victims of crimes, suspects of crimes and witnesses.”
During an interview with FDLE, Miller admitted to some sexual misconduct but denied the “egregious allegations” made by two people. Miller admitted to groping several women in the form of tickling but said the women reciprocated. He admitted to asking to see his subordinate’s breast but said it was done in a joking manner.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-Holly Hill Police officer felt pressured for sex by former chief
Source Agencies
