Trooper First Class William P. Mills, Jr.

I had just finished up my tenth grade year at North Dorchester High School the summer this happened , right down the road . I remember what a shock it was to everyone that someone would shoot a State Trooper in this area of the Shore back then. I remember the funeral and the outpouring of support from both the community and all the various law enforcement agencies. There were quite a few of us teenagers from N.D. H.S. that went to his funeral out of respect for him . I had started working at Gary's Sunoco gas station in Hurlock the year before this happened and he used to come up there to get gas all the time . A lot of the Troopers down here got their gas up at Gary's back during that time . Trooper Mills would always hang out for a few and shoot the breeze with Gary , me and the rest of the young guys that worked up there . Gary's was kind of a hangout spot for all the guys that liked fast cars , motorcycles , hot rods , racing etc. Everybody liked and respected Trooper Mills - he was a really good dude and we all enjoyed B.S. 'n with him whenever he would stop by the station . He was intelligent and quick witted & could joke and tell a story with the best of them . He was just a solid cat ... An old school Eastern Shore Trooper . He did his job but he never went out of his way to be overly hard on people . He was always respectful with people and he always shot straight with you . He would cut you a break if you didn't give him a reason not to. He was respected & well liked by many down here - myself included . Still makes me sad over 40 years later... Respectfully - K. Howell

K. Howell
Just a teenage kid that knew & liked him .

September 17, 2021