Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Sunday, June 7, 2009
Age: 34
Tour of Duty: 10 years, 9 months
Badge Number: 8819
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 7, 2009
Weapon Used: Handgun; 9 mm
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Trooper Joshua Miller was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a kidnapping suspect.
At 7:45 pm, members of the Nazareth Police Department responded to a report of a protection-from-abuse order violation involving a weapon. When they arrived, the suspect took a 9-year-old boy from his mother at gunpoint and fled the location in a vehicle, leading to a 40-mile vehicle pursuit.
The suspect's vehicle was stopped in Coolbaugh Township (Monroe County) when members of the Pennsylvania State Police utilized the PIT maneuver, causing the vehicle to crash. Following the crash, Trooper Miller and another trooper approached the car in an attempt to rescue the boy, but the suspect opened fire on the troopers striking Trooper Miller in the neck and leg and striking his partner in the arm. The troopers were able to return fire and killed the suspect.
While Trooper Miller and his partner were engaged in the gun battle, two other troopers were able to rescue the boy from the passenger seat of the suspect's vehicle and carry him to safety.
Trooper Miller was transported to a local hospital where he died from his wounds. His partner was also treated and recovered from his injury.
On July 12, 2007, Trooper Miller, along with other members of the Pennsylvania State Police, assisted members of the New York City Police Department in the capture of two of the men who killed Police Officer Russell Timoshenko and wounded his partner on July 9, 2007, during a vehicle stop in Brooklyn, New York.
Trooper Miller was a United States Marine Corps veteran who had served with the Pennsylvania State Police, assigned to the Swiftwater State Police Barracks, for six years, and previously served with the Tunkhannock Police Department for four years. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.