|
|
|
Over the past three years, Shay Miller has been on the sidelines of law enforcement. Busy with the business he left the Wilson Police Department to start, he reacts to the sounds of sirens or the flash of emergency lights not with panic or fear, but with longing.
“You see it on TV, it makes you miss it,” Miller said. “You see a police car go by, it makes you wish you were in there.”
Miller is back in the chase now, returning to the Wilson PD after a three-year hiatus.
Miller started working for the Wilson police in 2001 as a reserve officer, and was promoted to full-time in 2002. The city sent the Lone Grove graduate to the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training academy in 2003.
Miller worked the beat in Wilson for three years, but then decided to expand his horizons and start his own business. He left the force in 2006 to deliver down-hole oil rig parts to oil fields across the country.
“I heard people talking about it, so I decided to take a chance,” Miller said.
His business took him to West Virginia, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Texas and Oklahoma.
As lucrative as his business was, the speed didn’t appeal to him — or rather, the lack of it.
“That’s the reason I came back,” Miller said. “It got too slow for me.”
Miller and his twin sons, Easton and Weston, came back to Wilson last week. He was hired back on to the force quickly.
The officer credited police chief Felix Hernandez as one reason he came back to Wilson, as opposed to working for another police department.
“I’ve always worked well around him,” Miller said of Hernandez. “He’s a great person.”
Miller is happy to wear the badge again, saying a police officer is what he’s always wanted to be.
“It’s one of those jobs where you don’t dread coming to work,” Miller said. “You get to help people out.”
He said Wilson hasn’t really changed much in the three years since he left, but the job has.
“It’s picked up a lot more since I left,” he said. “We have a lot more calls than we used to. It’s something new every day.”
Miller began his 90-day probationary period Thursday night. At the end of the period he will be eligible for benefits.
Phil Banker 221-6542
Over the past three years, Shay Miller has been on the sidelines of law enforcement. Busy with the business he left the Wilson Police Department to start, he reacts to the sounds of sirens or the flash of emergency lights not with panic or fear, but with longing.
“You see it on TV, it makes you miss it,” Miller said. “You see a police car go by, it makes you wish you were in there.”
Miller is back in the chase now, returning to the Wilson PD after a three-year hiatus.
Miller started working for the Wilson police in 2001 as a reserve officer, and was promoted to full-time in 2002. The city sent the Lone Grove graduate to the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training academy in 2003.
Miller worked the beat in Wilson for three years, but then decided to expand his horizons and start his own business. He left the force in 2006 to deliver down-hole oil rig parts to oil fields across the country.
“I heard people talking about it, so I decided to take a chance,” Miller said.
His business took him to West Virginia, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Texas and Oklahoma.
As lucrative as his business was, the speed didn’t appeal to him — or rather, the lack of it.
“That’s the reason I came back,” Miller said. “It got too slow for me.”
Miller and his twin sons, Easton and Weston, came back to Wilson last week. He was hired back on to the force quickly.
The officer credited police chief Felix Hernandez as one reason he came back to Wilson, as opposed to working for another police department.
“I’ve always worked well around him,” Miller said of Hernandez. “He’s a great person.”
Miller is happy to wear the badge again, saying a police officer is what he’s always wanted to be.
“It’s one of those jobs where you don’t dread coming to work,” Miller said. “You get to help people out.”
He said Wilson hasn’t really changed much in the three years since he left, but the job has.
“It’s picked up a lot more since I left,” he said. “We have a lot more calls than we used to. It’s something new every day.”
Miller began his 90-day probationary period Thursday night. At the end of the period he will be eligible for benefits.
Phil Banker 221-6542
