A Hero's Goodbye: Mannford's Police Chief Laid To Rest

Family, friends and law enforcement officers laid to rest Mannford Police Chief Lucky Miller Saturday.             

Investigators said a Mannford detective killed Miller on Sunday while the two were at a police conference in Florida.

At least 2,000 people attended the funeral service to honor Miller.

Law enforcement officers from across Oklahoma lined the streets to give Miller a hero’s goodbye.

“He is a legend,” said Osage County Deputy and former Mannford Police Officer Johnny Porter. “I couldn't ask for a better teacher, a boss. He's not a boss, he's a friend.”

Miller dedicated half his life to making Oklahoma a safer place, first in Stroud, then in Mannford for the past 12 years.

“He's going to be sorely missed,” said Mannford Police Officer Brett Gipson. “Whatever community he served came first. That was the bottom line, whatever was best for the community is what he’d do.”

His officers said Miller may have had the police chief title, but he preferred to have his boots on the ground, out working alongside his team.

“He was never happy sitting behind a desk,” said Gipson.

“He'd stop cars. He led by example. He was a leader,” said Porter.

They said he had a nose for getting bad guys and drugs off the streets.

“We've always accused him of being part K9, I mean, that was Lucky. I think he was just wired that way. He was just that type of person,” said Gipson.

Miller was also known for keeping things light on the days when things were slow, or on days the officers needed most. And anyone who knew Miller had probably been on the receiving end of one of his jokes.

“He was always doing some kind of crazy shenanigans. He was a Big jokester,” said Porter.                                              

“He made the day easy,” added Mannford Police K9 Handler Matthew Waltman.   

And Miller always made life fun for his family as dad to Kale, Logan and Carly and husband to his high school sweetheart, Amber, for 21 years.           

“He was a dad 100-percent. He was with his family. He'd be out fishing with the boys, at softball games with Carly,” Waltman said. “That guy loved his kids, they were his world. His wife was, too.”

His officers said their worlds will never quite be the same, but they consider themselves lucky for getting to call Lucky Miller their police chief, their friend and their hero.

“He will never be forgotten in this town. We're going to make sure we carry out his legacy,” Waltman said.

And they’re going to do it with pride, serving their community just like Lucky.

“The best way is to continue on and operate under that standards that he set. I think that's the best way to do it to honor him and I think that's what we fully intend to do,” said Gipson.

There's no way to measure the lives Miller impacted over his 22 years in law enforcement, but the preacher said the week before Miller’s death, he saved a suicidal man's life by talking with him and asking him to pray.

An online fundraiser has been set up to help pay for bringing Lucky’s body back to Oklahoma and funeral expenses.

If you would like to help click here.