Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas
End of Watch: Friday, January 19, 1968
Age: 48
Tour of Duty: 15 years
Badge Number: 98
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 19, 1968
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Released in 2005
Sergeant Eldon Miller was shot and killed while assisting area officers in a massive manhunt for two men and two women who had shot and wounded an Overland Park police officer after robbing a local bank.
The assailant's abandoned vehicle was located near an Overland Park apartment complex. As officers searched the complex, one of the men fired through an apartment door at the officers.
Sergeant Miller, who was outside of the apartment, jumped into a Johnson County Sheriff's Department patrol car and drove it towards the apartment's window to provide cover for officers who were outside. As he did so, the assailant opened fire through the window, striking him in the head. The assailant was seriously wounded by the other officers who returned fire. The other three suspects who were not with Sergeant Miller's killer were arrested ten days later.
The suspect, out on parole for killing a man in Oregon, was convicted of Sergeant Miller's murder and several bank robberies, receiving a total of 265 years in prison. He was released from prison on May 24, 2005. He died in 2016.
Sergeant Miller was a United States Army Air Corp WWII veteran and had served with the Kansas Highway Patrol for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and son.
A section of U.S. Highway 75 outside of Miller's home of Yates Center has been renamed the Eldon K. Miller Memorial Highway.