Rumford Police Chief Tony Milligan, left, congratulates Cpl. Donald Miller on his promotion and appointment as shift commander Sept. 23 at Rumford Falls Auditorium. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times
RUMFORD — Police officer Donald Miller has been promoted to corporal and appointed shift commander, three years after returning to the department he started with in 2008.
“It’s nice to be back here at home,” he said during a ceremony at the Rumford Falls Auditorium on Sept. 23.
Police Chief Tony Milligan said Miller started as a reserve officer in 2008 and became full time 10 months later.
“His ability to lead quickly became evident,” the chief said, noting that within a year of being hired full-time, Miller was promoted to corporal and served as shift leader for nearly four years.
In the summer of 2015, Miller joined the Lewiston Police Department.
“After three years of working in the city, where he gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, Miller realized he wasn’t being fulfilled personally and professionally,” Milligan said. “He missed working with his comrades and missed serving in a community that he realized he loved,” so he returned to Rumford three years ago and started over again as a patrolman.
“He’s one of the department’s certified drug recognition experts, and mentors members in the department in the art of self-defense tactics,” the chief said. Cpl. Miller has also received specialized training in crisis intervention, advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement, advanced interview and interrogation and specialized response to suicide bombing incidents. In his off-time he has been putting together a self-defense course for community members as his way of giving back to the community he serves and is sworn to protect, Milligan said.
Earlier this year, Miller was given a commendation for “saving the life of a woman who could not walk and evacuate the building on her own, so he picked her up and carried her out to safety,” Milligan said.
Town Clerk Beth Bellegarde administered the oath office before Milligan pinned the badge to Miller’s uniform.
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