We all mistakes in life, but those mistakes aren’t created equal.
Take the case of Sunset Hills police officer Christine Miller, who while off duty March 21, 2009, got blindly drunk, drove the wrong way on Dougherty Ferry Road, and crashed into an oncoming car, killing four young people and seriously injuring a fifth.
The victims—all natives of India, all in their twenties—included three Eastern Illinois University students. The survivor had been engaged to one of the girls who died.
Prosecutors claim that Miller’s blood-alcohol content registered a stunning 0.229—nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. Her level was reportedly still 0.169, more than double the limit, about three hours after the crash. And she was a police officer.
Since the tragedy, Miller has been suspended from her job without pay by the Sunset Hills Police Department. She recently pleaded guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter and one of second-degree assault. She awaits disposition of the case and sentencing.
She and O’Leary’s Restaurant & Bar—the establishment (located roughly a thousand feet from the Sunset Hills police station) that served her drinks that night—settled a civil suit for a reported total of $2.255 million with the devastated families.
But here’s what has not happened—amazingly enough—to Christine Miller: She has not officially lost her job as a police officer. Tuesday night, in the wake of her guilty plea being filed, the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen met in executive session and (drum roll)…did nothing.
Yes, more than 630 days after she destroyed all of those lives, Miller has not been officially removed as a law-enforcement official.
It is unclear exactly what Sunset Hills and its police department are waiting for. Missouri is an “at-will” state, meaning the city could have fired Miller for messing up a lunch order if it so desired. It doesn’t even need a reason.
Is there something about this case that needs deliberation? Under what possible circumstance should a person who has committed such an irresponsible act be allowed to wear a badge again?
I sought an explanation from Robert Jones, its part-time city attorney, and the best he offered was that the board had followed the city’s police handbook in suspending Miller without pay. He declined to disclose discussions he had with board members.
Jones did acknowledge the only relevant fact in this case: “I do agree that Missouri is an at-will state.”
So here’s a suggestion for the esteemed Board of Aldermen: Give Christine Miller the same consideration that your police department would have given a blindly drunk 22-year-old who got behind the wheel of a car and killed four Sunset Hills police officers.
Show a little will.
