Fellow Marine recalls Trooper Miller's loyalty
Published: June 12, 2009
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Mark Moran / The Citizens' Voice Rochester police officer Brian Phillips was a close friend of fallen trooper Joshua Miller.
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YATESVILLE - Officer Brian Phillips walked through the lobby of Pittston Area High School lamenting the death of his best friend.
He and Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Joshua Miller met in the mid-1990s while in the Marines. They competed at everything and pushed each other to improve.
Officer Phillips of the Rochester (N.Y.) Police Department said the Marines forged a strong friendship between the two hardscrabble, young men and propelled them toward a post-military life as officers of the law.
In later years, the loyalty never died, he said.
"I wish I would have been on the interstate with him that night," Officer Phillips said as his eyes welled with tears. "This is the last place on earth I want to be."
Trooper Miller died Sunday in a shootout following a 40-mile pursuit with a suspect in the Poconos.
Officer Phillips, 37, said his time in the military with Trooper Miller changed his life and provided him with opportunities he would not otherwise have had.
"He was a better Marine than me, and for anyone who knows me, that's a mouthful to say," Officer Phillips said. "If it wasn't for the Marine Corps, Josh would not be a police officer, and I would not be a police officer.
"How do you pay someone back for saving your life?"
The two remained good friends through the years after the Marines. Officer Phillips is the godfather of Trooper Miller's second daughter, Breana, who is named after him. He recalls the night he got engaged to his wife, Kelly, also a Rochester officer. They drove from Rochester to Northeast Pennsylvania at midnight to deliver the news.
Officer Phillips said he is not surprised Trooper Miller was the first officer out of his car to confront the armed suspect. He will not let the incident change his approach to being a police officer.
"That's what you're supposed to do. We run to the sound of a gun," he said. "This will not change me one iota. I won't let it second-guess me. This is what we do."
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
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